


Finding a Place

by Ultra



Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Almost Kiss, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dysfunctional Family, F/M, Family, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gen, It's Hard and Nobody Understands, Love Triangles, Season/Series 02, Small Towns, Understanding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28733016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/pseuds/Ultra
Summary: When Jess Mariano first arrives in Stars Hollow, he doesn't want to be there. He certainly doesn't expect anyone in town to understand him or care about him at all. Then he meets the Gilmore Girls and everything changes.
Relationships: Lorelai Gilmore & Jess Mariano, Luke Danes & Jess Mariano, Rory Gilmore & Jess Mariano, Rory Gilmore/Jess Mariano
Comments: 51
Kudos: 69





	1. Chapter 1

When she ventured outside to look for Jess, Lorelai wasn’t exactly sure what she expected to find. She thought maybe he was just gone, all the way back to Luke’s, maybe even all the way back to New York. On the other hand, he could just as easy be taking a breather, a minute to get his head straight before he had to face a lot of strangers again. She wasn’t expecting the beer, but of course, she never dropped a beat. The second he had the cap off, she thanked him for taking the trouble and swept the bottle clean out of his hand, taking a drink.

“Refreshing,” she said with a satisfied lip smack and a smile.

He looked kind of underwhelmed, but then Lorelai supposed she couldn’t really expect anything else. She had just taken back the beer he tried to steal, but it wasn’t as if she was busting his ass for the theft. Of course, it was unlikely the entire problem was as simple as that.

“So, what?” she asked Jess, leaning beside him on the porch rail. “You’re not hungry?

“Not really.”

It came out muttered and awkward, proving he clearly did not want to be here. Lorelai knew that feeling a little too well.

“Well, Sookie made you some grilled cheese if you don’t like pot roast.”

“Oh, well, if I’d had known that...”

Lorelai bit her tongue when she wanted to snark back at him. It wouldn’t help and she knew it. When she first met Jess, she resented his attitude, feeling mad at him on Luke’s behalf, for not being grateful enough for the help he was receiving. That changed this morning, the moment she got a call from her mother.

“Let me guess, you don’t want to be here?” she said to Jess, who still didn’t seem eager to look at her at all.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“I mean, here, in Stars Hollow,” she pointed out.

Turning to face her then, Jess was in full sarcasm move as he answered her.

“Well geez, Ms. Gilmore, why would anyone not want to be here in Stars Hollow? That just sounds plum crazy.”

“Oh, Jess,” she said, shaking her head. “Will you let me give you a little advice?”

“Do I have a choice?” he countered. “Because that would make a change.”

Lorelai nodded her head, eyed the beer in her own hand for a moment. She would love to down the whole bottle right now, before she went forward into the breach as it were, but that was hardly the right example to set. Instead, she put the beer aside, took a deep breath, and tried to find the right words that would actually help Jess out without patronising him.

“Okay, first off, the whole ‘my parents don’t get me’ thing? I’ve been there,” she assured him with what she hoped came across as an understanding smile rather than a smart-ass one.

“You have, huh?”

“Yes, I have. I’ve also done the ‘chip on my shoulder’ bit. Ooh, and the surly, sarcastic, ‘the world can bite my ass’ bit, and let me tell you, I mastered them all, in heels, yet,” she said with a small laugh that she almost instantly regretted - Jess did not look amused. “What I’m trying to say is, well, I understand, you know? Teen angst is something I know a lot about, and one day, if you’re ever unfortunate enough to meet my parents, maybe you’ll understand why, but frankly, I wouldn’t wish that kind of torture on anyone.”

Jess shook his head. “It’s all relative. You know my mother’s a whack-job, right?”

“I... know that Liz has had her problems,” said Lorelai diplomatically, “and as a member of the ‘I had a baby way earlier than I probably should have’ club, I do get that it’s rough.”

When Jess’ head turned fast and he looked at her then, Lorelai realised she had surprised him, but she wasn’t sure how. After all, she sort of assumed that either from something Luke said or just from seeing their situation, Jess would guess she was a young, single mother, but maybe not.

“You know, by the time I was your age, I had a one-year-old, a full-time job, and a potting shed to call home.”

“Huh,” said Jess, clearly unimpressed still. “And what? I’m supposed to be happy that my life is just so great by comparison?” he checked.

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Lorelai shook her head. “Actually, what I was going to say was, even though things were tough for me then, at least I was happy. In a lot of ways, I got lucky, even though it might not have seemed that way to other people at the time. I got lucky with Rory, because she is the best kid, and even though my parents were not the greatest, I got lucky with Mia, this really nice lady who took me in and gave me that job and that potting shed I was talking about.”

She smiled at the happy memories, catching herself drifting and coming back fast to the present when she noticed Jess staring at her.

“You know, everything you’re feeling right now might be totally justified. Maybe your mom is a whack-job, maybe you are getting screwed, but Luke is a great guy,” she told him definitely. “He’s very special, and he really wants to take care of you and make things right for you. So, as much as you don’t see it right now, you’re incredibly lucky to have him, just like I was lucky to have someone to look out for me. Honestly, it does not suck to have a little support when life seems crappy.”

“He does seem pretty darn determined to help me out.” Jess rolled his eyes, leaning back down on the porch rail next to Lorelai.

“That’s Luke,” she said, rolling her eyes. “He’s a helper, even when you sometimes really don’t want him to be, but like I said, he is a good guy. I just think if you give this situation half a chance, you might be surprised at how good it can be, how much you like living here, and how comfortable it feels to have someone like Luke you can really depend on.”

It was something, Lorelai thought, that he was at least listening to her, that he had dropped the attitude for a minute and everything. As much as Luke was trying, and she knew he was, Jess probably just needed someone who had the same mess of a teenage life that he did to say they understood. Lorelai was totally up for that, as she hoped she was proving.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you and Luke... I mean, you’re not sleeping with him, are you?”

“Excuse me?” Lorelai gasped, completely shocked by the question.

“I don’t know.” Jess shrugged. “The whole starry eyed ‘you’re so much better off, just give it a chance’ speech. Maybe you’re just real good friends, or maybe...?”

“Okay, no,” said Lorelai fast, throwing up a hand to make him stop. “Please, God, do not finish that sentence.”

“So, no on the sleeping together,” said Jess, smirking terribly.

“No on the sleeping together,” Lorelai echoed. “Although, actually, not so much your business anyway.”

“I sleep five feet from his bed,” he countered. “Kind of is my business.”

“Yes, well,” she began to reply, realising pretty fast that he had a point, “just to be clear, Luke and I are friends, very good friends, but that is all. I just need you to know that... well, whatever you might think of your mom or Luke or Stars Hollow, however crappy life has been treating you, it can get better. I should know, because it did for me.”

Jess nodded in what seemed to be understanding, muttering what sounded like ‘Thanks’ but she couldn’t be sure.

Lorelai felt a sigh of relief escape her lungs. “Okay, so you wanna come inside? Try some of this delicious food Sookie has spent all afternoon making? I mean, you don’t have to but...”

“I could eat,” Jess admitted then.

“Cool, then let’s go eat.” Lorelai smiled, ushering Jess towards the door and back inside. “Just do me one favour,” she said as they reached the kitchen, “if I ever start sounding too Dr Laura, tell me, okay?”

Jess smirked and nodded once. “Deal.”

They both walked through to the living room then, where the others were standing around with plates piled high. Luke looked kind of worried until Lorelai mouthed something like ‘Everything’s okay’ and Jess didn’t have it in him to even roll his eyes at the whole thing. Besides, Rory was talking to him again and he certainly counted her as someone worth listening to.

“For a minute, I thought you doubled back to my room and bailed out the window.”

She said it quietly enough, and with Luke and Lorelai bickering over the food and Sookie and Jackson still apparently talking about lemons, nobody heard but Jess himself.

“Just needed some air, that’s all,” he told her. “Although, for the record, potlucks and Tupperware parties aren’t really my thing. I still think we’d be better off out there.”

“Hey, in here is where the food is,” Rory reminded him, handing him a plate that she had severely overfilled. “Sookie is the greatest chef. Not that Luke is any slouch. Since Mom doesn’t cook, they pretty much feed me all the time. Try it,” she urged him, proffering the plate one more time until finally Jess gave in and took it.

“Thanks,” he told her, realising she was just going to keep staring until he did as she asked.

Picking up a fork, Jess plunged into the mashed potatoes and took a big bite. Whatever he had been expecting, it was not what he got. He never in his life knew something as simple as mashed potatoes could taste that good, but they really did. He also hadn’t realised quite how hungry he was until he started eating decent food.

“Pretty good, huh?” said Rory with a grin.

“Not bad,” Jess acquiesced the moment his mouth was empty. “We allowed to sit?”

“Sure, right over here.”

She led the way to the couch and they sat down together, both digging in to their dinner with gusto while the adults entertained themselves. As cool as Lorelai had been with him, Jess was a little more comfortable not having all the attention of the four others on him all of the time. He could deal with just Rory. In fact, he could more than deal.

“So, do you think you’re going to like living in Stars Hollow?” she asked him between mouthfuls of delicious food.

“I don’t know, maybe.” Jess shrugged. “I guess it could be worse.”

“Wow, high praise.” Rory dead-panned. “Still, I guess it must be pretty weird after New York.”

“You have no idea.”

As the teens continued to talk, Luke found himself watching them from across the room. When Jess suddenly smiled widely at something Rory said, he actually felt his heart constrict. So, the kid was capable of an expression that wasn’t surly and sullen. Who knew?

Of course, in noticing the happiness of his nephew, Luke managed to completely miss a large chunk of whatever it was Lorelai was trying to tell him.

“All I’m saying is, well, I think maybe we all need to tread carefully with him, you know?” she said, clearly talking about Jess, made evident by the way she was glancing his way and also keeping her voice low. “I mean, he has a pretty decent _Breakfast Club_ audition going on, the last thing he needs is a reason to perfect it, right?”

“I’m sorry, what?” Luke shook his head, sure at least that Lorelai would assume he didn’t get the reference (which he actually did, for once) rather than having missed half of what she said to him.

“I just think that Jess is... well, he’s not so different to me when I was his age.”

“Really?” asked Luke, eyes a little wide.

“Well, obviously, there are differences.” Lorelai rolled her eyes. “Boy-girl differences and a pregnancy and all, but what I mean is, he’s had parent problems and he feels like his life isn’t his own, you know?”

“Hold on a sec.” Luke shook his head. “What are you doing talking to him about stuff like that?” he asked, perhaps a little more snippily than he should have.

“Hey, I’m just trying to help,” she pointed out, the hand holding her fork raised up in mock surrender. “Also, I can’t have done too bad a job because he’s here, right? He’s talking, and eating, and smiling,” she said with a look, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the couch.

“Yeah,” said Luke with a sigh. “I guess he is.”

“Then I helped.” Lorelai grinned. “Yay me. Now, I need more of this pot-roast, because wow, so good. Sook!”

She was gone in a second, leaving Luke standing alone, marvelling once again at her ability to just fix things. Well, maybe it was exaggerating a little to think she had fixed everything where Jess was concerned. Luke knew damn well there was a long way to go yet, but if he did his best and if he allowed Lorelai and even Rory to help out if they wanted to, maybe it could be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m just saying if you put your shoes in the same place each time you took them off, you wouldn’t misplace them, and then, there would be no need to come up with a whole new outfit on the fly, and I might actually have had time for a proper breakfast and still make it to my bus on time today.” Rory complained as she and Lorelai marched across town square together towards Luke’s diner.

“And all I’m saying is, if I hadn’t had to spend a full fifteen minutes helping you get too many books into that backpack, I would have realised sooner that I didn’t have the shoes and had time to pick out a new outfit, all within plenty of time of you needing to catch the bus,” she countered with a smile. “Can’t deny I’m right, can you?”

Rory pouted. “No.”

Lorelai gave a ‘huzzah’ of victory, complete with waved fist, as the girls finally went into Luke’s and right up to the counter.

“Hey, emergency order, right over here!” she yelled to Luke, rapping on the counter until he came over.

“Seriously with the knocking?” he asked, even as he poured them both a large coffee each.

“Yes, seriously. Rory is about to miss her school bus and nobody wants that.”

“That is true,” Luke considered, looking from mother to daughter. “You need this to go?” he said of the coffee.

“Yes, please,” she said, nodding fast and then checking over her shoulder to see if the bus was there yet.

Lorelai smiled, watching as her daughter turned back to find not only a to-go cup waiting for her but a paper bag also.

“A muffin and a doughnut, on the house,” Luke told her. “Take it as a thank you for being so welcoming to Jess last night. I appreciate that.”

“It was no problem. He’s a nice guy.” Rory smiled widely as she grabbed her breakfast and ran for the door, since the bus was now arriving. “Thanks, Luke!” she yelled as she went, the door clanging shut in her wake.

“She’s a good kid.” Luke smiled.

“That she is,” Lorelai agreed without pause, “and you know, your nephew isn’t so bad either,” she added in a lower voice, eyes straying to the curtain beyond the counter, mindful that Jess may appear at any moment.

“I don’t know,” said Luke, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure he was on his best behaviour last night just because we were at your house. I swear, he said more to Rory in an hour than he’s said to me since he got here.”

“Well, that’s normal, I guess,” Lorelai considered, sipping her coffee. “I mean, they’re the same age, they both seem to like books a lot, from what I hear. Isn’t it good that he’s talking to anybody right now?”

“I guess,” Luke agreed, seeming to shake off the conversation within a second then. “So, bacon, eggs, pancakes?”

“All of the above,” said Lorelai without pause. “And more coffee, obviously.”

“Obviously.” Luke rolled his eyes, pouring more into her cup before he even bothered getting her food.

No sooner had he disappeared out back than Jess appeared from upstairs, stumbling out through the curtain, mostly because he was paying more attention to the book in his hands than where he was headed.

“Well, hello, Trippy.” Lorelai chuckled. “How are you doing this morning, Jess?”

“I’m not bleeding or anything,” he told her with a smirk.

“Then it’s gonna be a good day.”

Jess sighed. “It’s a school day.”

“Not a big fan, huh?”

“Not really. Did you go to this place?” he asked of Stars Hollow High.

“Um, no. I’m from Hartford originally, but Rory used to go there. It’s not bad, as educational institutions go.”

“Huh.” Jess nodded. “I should...” he said, gesturing in the general direction of the door and the school and heading out.

“Have fun learning!” Lorelai called over her shoulder, just as Luke returned. “Jess left for school,” she explained off his confused expression.

“He could’ve said something.”

“Like what?”

“Like goodbye?”

“Luke, he’s going to school right across the street, not shipping off to ‘Nam.”

Lorelai was pretty sure he rolled his eyes at her comment, but didn’t really see since she was too busy digging in to her breakfast. Luke really was the best maker of breakfast ever. Not that she would tell Sookie that, of course.

“You think he’s gonna be okay, right?” Luke asked then.

“Who, Jess?” Lorelai checked around a mouthful, as she looked up at him and finally swallowed. “Sure. He has you now, plus me and Rory, I guess. He’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.” Luke sighed. “I’m doing my best, you know? I just don’t know if it’s really enough.”

“Hey, your best is all you’ve got, Luke,” Lorelai reminded him, patting his head. “Just keep doing that and I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end.”

* * *

Luke had meant what he said to Lorelai about doing his best with Jess, and when she told him that would be enough, he believed her. Then suddenly he found himself standing outside of the school, waiting for his nephew to emerge, so they could have a conversation neither of them was likely to enjoy. Of course, doing his best couldn’t mean letting Jess off the hook when he did something wrong, never even questioning him about things. At least, Luke was pretty sure it shouldn’t. He just really was not cut out to be a parental figure, that was all.

_‘All I’m saying is, well, I think maybe we all need to tread carefully with him, you know?’_

Lorelai’s words from last night also echoed in Luke’s head as he finally saw Jess step out from the school building into the afternoon sunshine. Taking a deep breath, he walked on up to meet the kid and tried for a friendly smile.

“Hey. How was school?” he asked as they fell into the step together.

“Fine,” Jess told him shortly.

“You learn anything good?”

“Oh, yeah, tons of things,” his nephew replied, sarcasm in full evidence. “I’ve got gold stars plastered all over my forehead.”

“Jess, come on,” Luke urged, pulling on his arm until he stopped walking.

“What do you want me to say, Luke?” he asked in earnest, an edge to his voice, but no real anger in his expression or tone at least. “It’s school. It’s fine. Not exactly my favourite place in the world, not least because I’m the new kid, _again_ , but I’ll deal, okay?”

Luke sighed. “Okay. So, I just need to ask you one thing and whatever you tell me, I’m going to believe your answer, okay?” He waited a beat for a response and when none came, except for a slightly dubious facial expression, he pressed on. “Did you go into Doose’s Market today and take some money from a donation cup?”

At that, Jess’ eyes widened just a little. “Seriously?”

“Yes or no, Jess,” Luke prompted. “An honest answer, it’s all I’m looking for.”

“No,” he immediately replied.

“No?” his uncle double-checked, watching his expression closely.

Jess never flinched. “It’s what I said.”

“Fine.”

Luke turned to walk away, fully intending to go straight back to the diner without another word said. He got a surprise when Jess spoke behind him.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Luke confirmed, glancing back.

“You believe me?”

“I said that I would. I asked for an honest answer and you’re telling me you didn’t do it. So, you didn’t do it, right?

“Right.” Jess nodded once, looking a little stunned. “Uh, thanks.”

“No problem, kid,” Luke told him, unable to keep from smiling.

Maybe it really wasn’t so hard to do his best and make a real difference with Jess.

* * *

Jess hadn’t exactly expected to fit in when he came to Stars Hollow. Sure, it had only been a couple of days, and the kids at the school were mostly idiots, but Luke was kind of a surprise. Apparently, he wasn’t just going to assume everything Liz said was true. If he did, there was no way he would’ve believed Jess when he said he didn’t steal the donation cup money. Not that he had never stolen anything in his life before, but a few lousy bucks from a place where he knew he was being watched like a hawk? Please, Jess knew better than that.

Since Luke was going to treat him like a decent human being, Jess didn’t really feel the need to not act like one. Of course, that didn’t mean he was going to be the perfect student and the ideal house guest just because he should. He liked his independence and he wasn’t giving it up for anybody, even if there was very little to do and very few places to go in a town like Stars Hollow. That didn’t mean it didn’t have its perks though.

“Hey,” said Rory as she spotted him, walking out to the centre of the bridge over the lake and smiling, brighter than the sun. “What are you doing out here?”

“Not much,” Jess confessed, shrugging his shoulders. “You?”

“On my way home from school,” she explained, gesturing to her uniform. “I had to stay late, school paper stuff.”

“You gonna be the next Lois Lane?” he asked with a smirk he couldn’t help.

“I’m going to be the first Rory Gilmore,” she said smartly, sitting down alongside him.

“Good answer.”

“I thought so.”

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, which was weird in and of itself. Jess wasn’t exactly the sociable type and when it came to girls, well, he did just fine in that department, but it wasn’t really talking he was usually doing. Rory was so different to the girls he knew back home, at least, the ones who actually wanted to hang out with him anyway. She had a lot more brains, an awful lot of interesting opinions, and yet she was also beautiful. That was quite the package.

“So, how’d you like Stars Hollow High?” she asked after a while.

“It’s not the worst school I ever went to.” Jess shrugged.

“How many schools have you been to?”

“Last count, eight.”

That made her eyes widen with surprise, though he noticed she didn’t actually make a comment or ask why he had moved schools so much. Jess would’ve told her if the question came up, but frankly, it was a boring story and he was happy enough not to share. It was easier to get back to where they left off last night, talking about music and movies and eventually, inevitably, books.

“Sometimes I don’t even know why they try to make movies based on books. I mean, when done properly, it can be so good, but there are way more failures than successes,” Rory noted.

“Can’t argue with that. You know a bunch of idiots at my last school rented the movie of _The Scarlet Letter_ so they wouldn’t have to read the book for English. Apparently, they wrote some pretty interesting papers.”

“I’ll bet.” Rory laughed. “Wow, of all the books to shortcut with a movie, they really picked wrong. Honestly, I never get why anybody wants to skip the reading anyway. Don’t they understand the experience they’re missing out on. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love movies, but there’s just something about a good book.”

If Jess had thought Rory was beautiful before, which he did, he would have to find some other word for what she was when she got passionate about literature. Enthralling, captivating, iridescent maybe.

“What?”

He hadn’t realised he was staring until she called him on it and there was no way in hell he was explaining all that had been running through his head.

“Speaking of books...” he said instead, reaching inside his jacket and producing a thin volume to hand to her.

“Oh, you bought a copy,” she said of Ginsberg’s _Howl_. “I told you I’d lend you mine.”

“It is yours,” he told her, trying not to smile when she looked momentarily stunned.

“You stole my book?”

“Nope, borrowed it,” he explained. “I just wanted to put some notes in the margins for you.”

Rory was clearly confused, at least until she started flipping through the pages to see what he meant. Frankly, Jess would prefer she read those notes he made when she wasn’t sitting right next to him, but that would mean leaving and he wanted to do that even less.

“You’ve read this before,” Rory realised aloud.

Jess nodded. “About forty times.”

When Rory looked up from the page then, smiling at something of his she had read it seemed, she was that much closer to Jess than before somehow. He didn’t question it, didn’t try to move away. After all, closer was better with Rory, as far as he was concerned. Maybe she did it on purpose, maybe not, but never one to miss an opportunity, Jess moved to close the gap between them and kiss her.

“What are you doing?” asked Rory, backing up so fast she almost toppled over onto her back. “Oh my God, why would you think...?”

“Forget it, I don’t think anything,” said Jess, scrambling to his feet as she did the same.

“No, I won’t forget it.” Rory shook her head. “I have a boyfriend,” she told him then.

“Funny, you never bothered to mention that before,” Jess said smartly, immediately wishing he hadn’t given the angry look it caused on her face.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t have one,” she told him, “and besides, even if I was single, that doesn’t mean that you just make a move like that. I met you yesterday, I tried to be friendly, for Luke’s sake, and what do you do? You steal my book, write your lame opinions in it, and then try to kiss me?”

“Geez, calm down.” Jess rolled his eyes, hoping to cover his embarrassment with bravado, because it usually worked. “What’s the big deal? I thought your name was Rory, not Mary.”

He turned away and missed the exceptionally angry look he had caused on Rory’s face, was completely oblivious to the fact she was rushing at his back, until suddenly her hands were shoving him and his feet were going out from under him.

Suddenly, Jess was in the water, and Rory was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

“I pushed him in a lake.”

The stunned looks on Lorelai and Luke’s faces proved to Rory that they definitely heard what she said and yet neither was reacting. She supposed it might take them a minute to process. There they were in the kitchen, having a perfectly reasonable conversation about Jess and where he might have gotten to, when suddenly Rory burst in the back door and made her declaration. It had to be quite the surprise.

“I’m sorry, sweets, I’m gonna need you to repeat that,” said Lorelai after a while.

“Jess.” Rory forced out, swallowing hard. “I... I pushed him, off the bridge, into the lake.”

“Aww, geez. Is he okay?” asked Luke, rushing towards the door just as Rory moved away from it.

“I think so,” she said, running a nervous hand over her hair. “He was standing, so... yeah, he’s okay, just... well, wet, I guess.”

“Rory, honey,” said Lorelai gently as she reached out to her daughter. “Why exactly did you push Jess in a lake?”

She opened her mouth to explain, her eyes cutting to Luke and then back to her mom. It wasn’t a story she really wanted to tell when the guy’s uncle was right there. Frankly, she was pretty sure even Lorelai was going to judge, because she probably had over-reacted a little, but Rory couldn’t help it. She said as much the very next second.

“I don’t know what happened. I lost control when he... well, first, we were just talking, and it was fine, like last night, you know? And then, he gave me back my book, which apparently, he stole, but even that was okay because he just wanted to write in the margins and I actually thought his comments were pretty insightful-”

“Can we get to the part where Jess ended up in the lake, please?” Luke urged her, clearly keen to know exactly what he was dealing with before he finally went in search of his soaking wet nephew.

“So, we were sitting pretty close and then he just leaned in and... well, I asked him what he thought he was doing. I mean, I have a boyfriend, and okay, he didn’t know about Dean, but still.”

“I’ll kill him,” said Luke angrily, one foot already out the door.

“Hey, get in line, bucko!” Lorelai called to him, before looking back to Rory. “Did he get forceful about this?” she double-checked.

Rory’s eyes went wide. “Oh, God, no!” she gasped, realising what they both were thinking now. “No, no, it was just a kiss, or an attempt at a kiss. I didn’t push him in the lake for that exactly.”

“Then why exactly did you push him?” her mom asked again.

“Because...” Rory tried to explain, feeling more and more stupid about it with each passing second. “Because after I told him to back off, he used that stupid nickname that the kids at school use. That Tristan started,” she said, giving her mother a look.

“Oh, the Virgin Mary thing?” Lorelai guessed.

“Virgin Mary?” Luke echoed, frowning some. “Kids still do that?”

“Apparently.” Lorelai rolled her eyes. “You should probably go check Jess is okay.”

Luke nodded his agreement and turned to go, just as Rory found her voice again.

“I’m so sorry!” she called to his back.

“It’s fine,” he promised her just before the door closed behind him with a bump.

“I really am sorry,” Rory told Lorelai instead. “I just reacted. If he had said anything else, I probably would’ve just walked away, but that name...”

“I know, hon,” her mom sympathised, pulling her into a hug. “Hey, no real harm done. Luke will check on Jess, probably tell him why you did what you did, and next time you guys see each other, you can both apologise for a rare stupid moment and everything will be fine.”

Rory looked up at her and made a face. “You’re weirdly optimistic today.”

Lorelai shrugged. “Sometimes you just gotta let the glass be half-full, babe,” she told her, smiling then. “Even if all that’s in there is lake water.”

“Not funny.”

* * *

“Jess?” Luke called as he let himself into the apartment.

It was no surprise to see his nephew emerge from the bathroom, scrubbing at his hair with a towel.

“You know you have some pretty nutty people in this town,” said Jess with a look as he walked by. “That Rory Gilmore who you told me was so sweet and decent and everything? She pushed me in a lake!”

“Yes, I know,” Luke told him, having to fight way too hard not to smile. “She’s sorry about that, by the way. Though I suspect you probably owe her an apology too.”

The fact that Jess didn’t ask why proved to Luke that his nephew knew very well why and was probably already regretting his actions and words. Nobody wanted an earful of lake water for their trouble. This whole situation might even have taught Jess a valuable lesson, both about himself and about women.

“This whole town is weird and full of jerks,” Jess grumbled as he sat down and dumped his towel on the kitchen table.

“Hey, I won’t argue with the weird part,” said Luke as he sat across from him. “But jerks? We have our fair share, but doesn’t every place?”

Jess shrugged in a non-committal gesture, folding his arms across his chest and looking everywhere but at Luke. His uncle only wished he knew what to say to him for the best. If he had really got fresh with Rory, then he would absolutely tear him a new one, but he hadn’t. It was all pretty harmless, going in for a kiss and getting rebuffed. Rory was fine and she more than got her own back by pushing Jess into the water. No harm, no foul.

Luke sighed. “Look, Jess, I know you don’t really wanna be here,” he said, getting his attention at last. “You didn’t choose to move, you got told it was happening. You’re not getting along with your mom, your dad is... well, the less said about him the better,” he said, shaking his head. “For what it’s worth, I get that you’re not happy and I’m sorry about that, but I’m doing my best here. You see that, right?”

“Whatever,” said Jess, getting up and going over to where his bag lay on his bed.

After some rummaging around, he came up with a lighter and a pack of cigarettes, clearly about to light up. Luke was quick to follow him, pulling the items from his hands.

“Hey!”

“Come on, Jess. Like I said, I’m doing my best here, but you are not smoking in my apartment, you got that?”

“Then I’ll go outside and smoke,” his nephew countered, reaching to take back his cigarettes, but Luke only held them up higher.

“Why? Why would you even wanna put this crap into your body?”

“Please don’t give me the speech, I heard it ten times already.” Jess rolled his eyes.

“Then maybe you should start listening to what you’re being told!” Luke said crossly, before realising once again that losing his temper was no good. “Jess, I get that everything seems so out of your control right now, but you really think doing something that’s hurting yourself just because you can is a smart choice?”

He looked awkward for a few seconds, before he looked up and met Luke’s gaze.

“You never smoked a cigarette in your life?”

Luke opened his mouth and then closed it again, looking pained. “I smoked,” he admitted then. “Briefly, when I was young and stupid.”

“Somebody tell you not to, Uncle Luke?” Jess asked, that annoying smirk of his beginning to break through again. “I’ll bet they did, and I’ll also bet that you didn’t listen, not until you decided you were done.”

He was fighting a losing battle, Luke was well aware. After all, even if he succeeded in keeping these cigarettes and this lighter away from Jess, it would be easy enough for him to go out and get more. There were stores that would sell them to anybody, if not in Stars Hollow then in the next town over. Wasn’t as if he was too young-looking at seventeen not to pass for over eighteen, and some stores didn’t care too much about that anyway if they were going to make a sale.

“Fine,” he said eventually, handing Jess’ items back to him. “Go, smoke yourself to death if that’s really what you want,” he said, gesturing towards the door.

Jess didn’t hesitate in heading that way, though he paused before actually leaving.

“I know you’re trying,” he said quietly, adding nothing more as he went out, letting the door clang shut in his wake.

Luke stared after him, adjusting his hat with a sigh. “Well, at least that’s something.”

* * *

Jess had been walking around town for quite a while, not that there was all that much town to walk around, but he found some corners that might be okay to hide in should he ever need to. Strangely, he even found himself going back to the lake, almost hoping to see Rory there. God only knew what that said about his masochistic tendencies, but Jess chose not examine it too closely.

He was actually on his way back to the diner when he finally spotted Rory coming out of a store down the street. Checking quickly for traffic, he hurried across the way, catching her eye from about six feet away.

“Hey,” he said warily.

“Hi,” she replied, stopping stock still.

“Don’t worry,” he told her, hands help up in mock surrender. “I wasn’t planning on coming any closer.”

Rory actually smiled. “You could, you know?” she said then, though the moment he took one step forward she held up a hand. “In a purely platonic way, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Jess, nodding once as he moved in a few paces, risking a friendly smile. “So...”

“So,” she replied in kind, apparently waiting for him to go first.

That made sense, since he was the one to approach her, but the truth was, Jess wasn’t great at explaining himself and even worse at apologising, even when he knew he should. Clearing his throat, he made his best effort, since it was her.

“You know if you’re really not happy about what I wrote in your book, I can probably get you a new copy-”

“It’s fine,” Rory cut in fast, shaking her head in the negative. “Actually, you’re pretty insightful... for a jerk,” she said smartly, smirking a little herself by now.

“Uh-huh.” Jess nodded. “Well, you’re pretty innocent-looking for a girl who pushes people into lakes,” he countered, unable to keep from smiling.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I’m really not so violent, usually. It’s just you kind of used the one nickname that flips a switch with me. Of course, you couldn’t have known that so, like I said, I’m sorry about the whole trying to drown you thing.”

“Apology accepted,” he told her graciously. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I flipped a switch.”

He should probably also add ‘and for trying to kiss you’, but Jess knew that would make him a liar. It wasn’t as if he wasn’t economical with the truth when it suited him, but somehow, with Rory, he wanted to be better than that. He wanted what he told her to be honest, because somehow, he already knew that whatever relationship they might end up having, it was going to be worth more than any other he had ever had before.

“Apology accepted,” she told him, echoing his own words. “So, how about we pretend like that interaction on the bridge ended at you returning my book and then move forward from there?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jess agreed, pushing his hands further into his pockets in a vain attempt to resist touching her in some way and making this whole situation just a bad replay of before. “You wanna come over to the diner? I already figured out where Luke hides the leftover pie.”

“Very tempting,” said Rory, “but I have to get home. Lots of studying to do, plus I’m expecting a call from Dean, so...”

“Ah, the boyfriend,” Jess supposed. “Well, then, you should go.”

He tried not to smile too much on realising that Rory didn’t seem all that eager to leave, even though she said she should. Eventually, of course, they did have to part and Jess turned around to watch her walking away until she was completely out of sight, before heading back to the diner.

Maybe things hadn’t gone exactly how he thought they would with Rory so far, but it seemed like Jess was stuck in this crackpot town for the next few months at least. There was plenty of time for things to change.


	4. Chapter 4

“Hey, two coffees, please?” Lorelai smiled widely at Luke from her side of the counter.

“Both for you?” he checked, an eyebrow raised. “I mean, I know you love the stuff but-”

“Rory’s right outside with Lane, she’ll be here in a second, and she will be drinking the second cup,” said Lorelai definitely as Luke poured the drinks. “Well, unless she’s actually longer than that and I finish my coffee first, then her cup just becomes fair game.”

Luke shook his head even as he smiled. “You have a problem.”

“Not so long as you keep pouring, Diner Man,” she told him with a grin, drinking down as much of her coffee as she could manage in one hit. “Oh, wow!” she gasped, almost spitting as Jess came into view. “What the heck is that?” she asked, gesturing wildly.

“It’s a shirt,” Jess told her, frowning as he glanced down at his own chest.

Luke looked over too and sighed. “Jess, go upstairs and change your shirt.”

“I like this shirt,” his nephew protested. “You do know who Metallica are, right?”

“No, he probably doesn’t,” Lorelai answered before Luke could even get his mouth open, “but kid, just because they are a great band, that shirt is gross and should not be anywhere near people who are eating, ever.”

Jess sighed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he declared, turning to go back through the curtain and trudge up the stairs to change.

“Thank you for that.” Luke smiled at Lorelai, refilling her coffee cup, in spite of his better judgement.

“No problem,” she said, shrugging easily. “I just spoke the truth. That is a gross shirt, but they are a great band.”

“Who’s a great band?” asked Rory as she hopped up onto the stool beside her mom and dumped her backpack on the floor. “Ooh, coffee!” she said happily, grabbing up her cup and taking a long drink.

“Metallica,” Lorelai said in answer to her question, “but more important things - breakfast. What are we having today?”

Luke tried not to wince as the Gilmore girls made their choices and placed their large order. No matter how long he knew them, he was positive he would never understand where they each put all the food they ate, or how they could consume quite that amount of coffee without giving themselves some kind of seizure.

“Okay, staring now,” said Lorelai, frowning some. “Luke, you okay?” she checked.

It was only when she said it that he realised she was right, he was staring at them, mostly her, and that was weird.

“Sure. Sure, I’m fine,” he told her fast, hitting his pencil against the order pad. “I’ll go get your breakfast.”

He turned and disappeared into the kitchen as Rory leaned closer to her mom.

“You really think he’s okay?”

“I don’t know.” Lorelai shrugged. “I guess so. I mean, yes, he was staring a little, but hey, we’re gorgeous, who wouldn’t?”

“So true,” Rory agreed, completely deadpan. “So, I was thinking...”

She stopped speaking abruptly when she saw the curtain move behind the counter and then Jess stepped out, pulling down the hem of his T-shirt as he appeared. He glanced up in time to catch her looking and Rory quickly turned away, almost throwing herself off her stool in the process.

“Woah, careful,” said Lorelai, reaching to steady her.

“I’m fine,” Rory said fast. “I am. I, uh... Hi,” she said, looking across the counter at Jess who was now right in front of them.

“Hey,” he replied, nodding his head at her then looking to Lorelai instead. “This better for food service?” he said, gesturing to his shirt.

“One hundred percent better,” she assured him, with an actual thumbs up for emphasis, just as her cell started to ring.

Pulling the phone from her purse, Lorelai was about to answer it when Luke reappeared, giving her a severe look. They both looked towards the ‘no cell phones’ sign and then Lorelai sighed.

“I’ll be right back,” she told her daughter, hurrying out the door.

Rory opened her mouth to protest but didn’t get the chance. Turning back around, she thanked Luke for her breakfast as he placed it in front of her, and then sadly watched him walk away, leaving her alone with Jess.

“So,” he said, leaning on the counter close to her.

“So,” she replied, making a big deal of picking up her fork and keeping all focus on her eggs and bacon. “How’s it going at Stars Hollow High? You write in any of their books yet?”

“Now that would be telling,” Jess told her, smirking hard when she dared to glance up at him.

Rory couldn’t help it, she had to laugh, but that was okay. It was nice to have the tension broken. Despite their conversation the other night, in which they had both said they were sorry and accepted each other’s apology, she had still been a little worried about things being weird. It seemed silly now that she thought about it, but then, that almost-kiss on the bridge had triggered a dream a couple of nights later in which there had been no ‘almost’ about it. Somehow, she just couldn’t get it out of her head and actually seeing Jess in the cold light of day was making her feel more than a little strange.

“Are you gonna throw up?” he asked her then, frowning some. “You look weird.”

“I do not look weird,” she told him, mock crossly. “For your information, I was just wondering... why you asked my mom’s opinion on your shirt,” she said, thinking remarkably fast.

Jess rolled his eyes. “My Metallica shirt didn’t meet with approval.”

“Oh, right. Metallica. That makes sense,” Rory nodded, recalling what her mom had said about the band when she first came in.

Luke called to Jess then, asking him to refill some coffees and bus some tables before he headed out to school.

“No rest for the wicked,” Jess said with a look, turning away from Rory and disappearing out from around the counter to do his work.

Rory felt a sigh of relief flow out of her as she dug into her breakfast some more, waiting for her mom to come back and join her. A minute later, there was Lorelai, huffing and complaining about some crisis at the inn and Michel being a drama queen. It wasn’t as if Rory was deliberately not listening, but she did find her eyes and mind wandering every time Jess passed by behind the counter.

“Babe?” Lorelai prompted, literally poking Rory in the arm with the handle end of her fork. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” she promised, shaking her head. “I was just... Um, I was going to say, you know, me and Jess, everything is fine now.”

“Right.” Lorelai nodded once. “You said that three days ago. How you apologised and he apologised and you guys were buds again. Did I get that wrong?”

“No, no, you were right. It was cool, but then, I was just worried maybe it wouldn’t be, but it is,” she said definitely and with a bright smile. “We’re... friends, I guess.”

“Well, that’s good.” Lorelai smiled right back at her.

“Yeah, it’s good,” Rory agreed, hoping she was as convincing as she wanted to be.

* * *

Jess had thought everything with him and Rory was okay. Sure, she shut him down when he tried to kiss her, and even went so far as to make attempts at drowning him, but they got past that pretty easy. They were friends, he supposed, which was weird in and of itself, because Jess didn’t really have friends that were girls. Now, suddenly, he had two, kind of, anyway.

Lane Kim had talked to him a couple of times in school, and though she was the same flavour of nuts as most other folks from Stars Hollow (and if she wasn’t, her mother sure was) she seemed cool. She knew so much about decent music and she was a friend of Rory’s too, so that didn’t hurt.

As for Rory herself, Jess had thought something could come out of that, maybe. She was way more small town girl than he was used to, but she just had something about her. He liked her a lot, as if that wasn’t obvious, but of course, there was the little matter of the boyfriend.

“Hey, Jess?” Lane said then, tapping on the counter until she finally got his attention. “You okay?”

“Sure, yeah,” he told her, shaking his head clear of too many thoughts. “What can I get you?”

“Oh, just a soda, please,” she said, checking over her shoulder for maybe the fifth time in eight seconds. “I am seriously in need of the sugar and caffeine hit, and you know Mama won’t have anything in the house that contains much of either. I swear, if she offers me celery water one more time, I’m going to go insane!”

“Not even going to ask what that means,” Jess told her, putting her soda down in front of her and watching her gulp at least half of it in one go. “So, you’re not hanging out with Rory today?”

“Nope.” Lane gasped as she finally came up for air, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. “She’s busy with the whole coming out thing.”

“Coming out?” Jess checked, more than a little thrown by the phrase in the context of Rory, who had a boyfriend, after all.

“Yeah, you know, like society coming out,” Lane explained.

“She means a debutante ball,” Luke threw in as he passed by with empty plates in his hands.

Jess’ eyes went wide. “And you know about this stuff how?”

“Lorelai told me!” said Luke snippily. “Rory’s grandmother asked her if she wanted to go to the ball and, because she’s incapable of upsetting anybody ever, Rory said yes. Now, Lorelai has to make her some froofy white dress and she and Rory are over at Miss Patty’s learning some stupid waltz or whatever. It is beyond me,” he said definitely before disappearing back into the kitchen.

“Huh,” said Jess, taking a moment to contemplate all that his uncle just told him. “She’s learning to dance?” he checked then, looking to Lane again, just in time to see her swallowing the last of her soda.

“Uh-huh,” she gasped out, burping very loudly right after and excusing herself as she went beet red. “She has to be perfect for Saturday, which is going to be tough because, as much as I love her, Rory is not really all that co-ordinated. From what I heard when I stopped by on the way here, Dean is kind of a two-left-feet person too.”

“Dean?” Jess echoed. “Ah, the boyfriend.”

“Yup, the boyfriend.” Lane nodded her agreement. “Okay, refuelling complete,” she said then, putting her glass down on the counter with a thud. “I gotta go. Thanks, Jess!”

She was waving as she flew out the door, letting it clang shut behind her. Jess barely noticed, his eyes drifting out of the window and towards the dance studio across the way. He couldn’t exactly imagine Rory in a ball gown doing the whole ballroom dancing thing.

“She doesn’t seem like the type,” he said aloud as Luke returned from out back.

“Who, Lane?” his uncle checked.

“Rory,” Jess explained. “You know, all the debutante ball crap.”

“She’s not,” Luke confirmed, “but like I said, Emily Gilmore will not be denied. She didn’t get a chance to put Lorelai through the whole ancient ritual, so she’s having Rory do it instead. I seriously don’t get it.”

“Me either,” said Jess absently, curiousity more than a little piqued now.

Rory practising her waltz or whatever could be entertaining. Seeing what this sap of a boyfriend was like might be useful too. Not that Jess knew for sure he was a sap, of course, but he got that impression, one way and another. Plus, if the two of them were really as bad at dancing as Lane implied, Lorelai had to be losing her mind, especially if there was no coffee on hand.

“It’s quiet enough for me to go make a delivery, right?” he said, grabbing to-go cups from under the counter.

“A delivery?” Luke echoed, looking confused. “Where?”

“Coffee for the troops,” said Jess with a smirk. “What? You don’t think Lorelai and Rory will be needing it by now?”

He wasn’t offended by how surprised his uncle looked that he wanted to do a favour for the Gilmore girls. It was true enough that Jess was not the most sociable or neighbourly person in the world, but he didn’t hate everybody. Besides, Lorelai and Rory had been pretty decent to him since he got to Stars Hollow, a marked difference from most people, with the exception of Luke and maybe Lane.

“Were you planning on paying for those?” Luke asked as Jess poured coffee into a third cup and secured the lid. “Ah, what the hell, we’ll call it on the house since it’s for those two. Uh, but you should take four cups.”

“Lorelai, Rory, and the boyfriend, that’s three,” said Jess with a look.

“The fourth is for Miss Patty. She likes cream and sugar. Also, anything in pants, even if he’s not quite of age yet,” he told his nephew with a look.

“Aww, geez,” Jess moaned, now a little less eager about his delivery job.

Not that anything was going to stop him going over to the dance studio, not when he knew Rory was there, and the boyfriend too. He had a feeling this was going to be fun.


	5. Chapter 5

Jess heard the music and the general noises of complaint before he ever actually reached the dance studio. From what Lane had already told him, he wasn’t expecting anything worthy of _Strictly Ballroom_ to be going on inside, but he really hadn’t thought Rory could be so bad. Apparently, he was wrong.

“Ouch,” he said aloud, wincing on behalf of the giant that Rory was dancing with when his toes got crushed under her foot.

“Oh, hey, Jess.” Lorelai smiled as she turned and saw him standing there. “Oh my God, you’re saintly!” she declared then, scooping a to-go cup from the tray and taking a long drink. “Um, these were for us, right?” she checked right after, clearly noticing the look of surprise on Jess’ face.

“Sure, they’re for you,” he told her then. “Lane mentioned what was happening. I figured caffeine would be necessary.”

“Caffeine is _always_ necessary, my friend,” Lorelai told him definitely. “And not just for the dance practice, but also for the walking and the talking and the putting sentence together doing.”

Jess smirked at the way she said it but made no comment. It had taken a very short space of time for him to learn that Lorelai and Rory ran on coffee first, sugar second, and every other kind of junk food after that. It was amazing to him that they had the figures they did, something he mentioned in passing to Luke one day. He did a lot of grumbling, made a big point about Jess not noticing either of the Gilmore girls bodies, and that was that.

“So, that’s the boyfriend,” he said aloud, hardly aware he had done it until Lorelai made some reply.

“Yup, that would be Dean,” she confirmed. “You guys haven’t run into each other at Stars Hollow High?” she asked, an eyebrow quirked as she sipped at her coffee some more.

“Nope.” Jess shook his head. “You’d think he’d stand out in a crowd.”

“But since your nose is usually buried deep in a book, I guess it makes even the tallest guy easy to miss,” Lorelai noted, turning back to look at the dancing couple as Miss Patty bust in to make adjustments. “Dean’s a good guy. Good for Rory. She’s lucky to have him.”

“Ah,” said Jess then, smirking hard as Lorelai peered at him over her coffee cup. “She told you.”

“Told me?”

“About the bridge.”

“Maybe.” Lorelai smirked a little herself and then sighed. “Look, Jess, if you didn’t know Rory had a boyfriend-”

“Which I didn’t.”

“And you like her and you felt like you guys were having a moment, I’m not judging you for trying your chances,” she said easily. “Rory is seventeen and, as you found out, more than capable of fending off unwanted attention.”

“She’s stronger than she looks,” Jess admitted, looking at Rory rather than her mother.

“I’m guessing she had the element of surprise on her side too, but yeah, I guess she is. Apparently, so are you.”

Jess wasn’t sure what she meant by that and it must have showed on his face because Lorelai was soon explaining.

“I mean, not physically strong, although you probably are if you’re anything like your uncle. I meant tough, you know, inside, where it matters. You weren’t exactly thrilled to come here, we both know that, and not everybody has been all that welcoming - naming no names, Taylor,” she said, the last part all coming out of the side of her mouth in a weird voice that made Jess laugh. “I just think it’s cool that you didn’t disappear into the night, or give Luke a real hard time, or be the real hoodlum that half the town thought you were when you got here, that’s all. You’re trying, that’s all anyone can do.”

There really was no good answer Jess could think of to give to a speech like that. He sort of thought maybe he should thank her for noticing he was actually trying not to be an ungrateful ass or anything. At the same time, he almost thought he should be offended somehow, but he wasn’t quite sure why.

“Jess, hey. What are you doing here?” Rory asked as she suddenly appeared in front of them, the boyfriend trailing behind her.

“Jess is the angel that brought us coffee!” said Lorelai with great enthusiasm, gesturing for Jess to hand out the drinks already.

It took him a moment to even realise he was still holding the tray and then he dutifully proffered it at the rest of the people present. Rory took a cup and Dean reached out for the next one over.

“Uh, that’s actually for Miss Patty,” he recalled. “It has cream and sugar,” he told the dance instructor who grinned big as she took her drink.

“Well, thank you, honey,” she said, looking him over a little too much. “Aren’t you just a darling for knowing what I like?”

Jess cleared his throat. “That was actually Luke, not me,” he corrected her, glad of the need to turn away from her to let Dean take the last coffee, even if it did mean getting glared at.

“Thanks,” he said shortly.

“Um, have you guys actually met?” Rory checked then, looking between the two guys.

“I just asked Jess that,” Lorelai piped up when neither one answered. “Apparently, they missed each other in school. So, introductions. Dean Forester, Rory’s boyfriend, meet Jess Mariano, Luke’s nephew. Jess meet Dean,” she said, waving her hands between them. “You know, I think my mother would actually be proud if she could see me right now,” she noted then, before shuddering horribly. “Wow, scary thought.”

Rory giggled at that, while Dean continued to glare at Jess and he stared back, wondering exactly what this guy’s problem was. After all, he was the one dating Rory, what did he have to be so mad about? Unless Rory had told him that Jess tried to kiss her, and even then, he ought to be satisfied enough if he heard the whole story of how his potential adversary got pushed in a lake for his trouble.

“Dean, sweetheart,” said Miss Patty then, her hand at his shoulder. “Come on over here and let me guide you through turns again. We don’t want you spinning poor Rory right across the room and into a wall, now, do we?”

As Dean was dragged away, Rory sighed. “I swear she just likes getting her hands on him.”

“You’re probably not wrong,” Lorelai agreed. “I wouldn’t stand there too long, Jess, you might be the next victim.”

“The day somebody gets me doing this kind of dancing, Satan will be skating to work,” he said definitely.

“Well, I wouldn’t be doing it either, but it’s kind of required at a coming out ball,” said Rory, taking a long drink of her coffee.

Lorelai’s cell began ringing then and she grabbed it from her purse, actually cheering when she saw who was calling.

“Christopher,” she said, waving the phone at Rory. “I’ll go find out his ETA. Be right back!” she declared, hurrying out of the door and down the steps away from the music as she accepted the call.

“Christopher?” Jess echoed curiously.

“Oh, that’s my dad.” Rory smiled. “He needs to be here for the ball. A father has to present his daughter to society and then the daughter’s escort... well, escorts her,” she explained.

“Right.” Jess nodded slowly. “Sounds... archaic.”

“It absolutely is, but that’s okay. It means a lot to my grandma that I do this. My mom was supposed to be a deb, but right when the ball came around, she was a little too big for the dress thanks to me.”

“Huh. Yeah, she mentioned something about that. We should start a club.”

“A club?” Rory checked, frowning some.

“Liz was seventeen when she found out about me.”

“Wow. So, the Book-Loving Progeny of High School Mothers Club?”

Jess smirked. “Something like that.”

“Rory, darling. We need you!” Miss Patty called for her then.

With a great heaving sigh, she handed Jess her now-empty coffee cup. “Thanks for the caffeine,” she said with a smile then. “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,” she quoted before heading over to where Dean and Miss Patty waited for her.

Since Jess had no real yen to watch Rory and the boyfriend continue to dance (badly) he figured it was better to head back to the diner. He was out the door and down on the sidewalk before he thought about the fact Lorelai was out there. Jess soon remembered when he heard her cursing.

“Ugh, men suck!” she declared then, slamming her cell phone shut.

“On behalf of my side of the gender divide, thanks a lot,” he deadpanned in response.

Lorelai sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, and clearly trying to calm down.

“I know it’s not all men, I swear I do, but Christopher is just... He promised he would be here for Rory’s ball, he absolutely promised,” she explained crossly. “And now, something has come up. _Something_ , not even a definite thing, just something! I cannot believe him.”

Jess turned around to look back up into the studio where Rory and Dean were practising yet, not really improving at all, if Miss Patty’s frantic arm waving was anything to go by. Still, Rory was trying, working hard at this because it clearly mattered to her in some strange way. Unfortunately, it seemed her father was going to wreck it for her. Jess more than knew how that went. His dad had walked out on him when he was barely a day old. His mother was, as he once told Lorelai, a whack-job. He more than understood.

“You know, you can tell me to mind my own business if you want, but since you’re also Rory’s parent, why don’t _you_ just... present her to society or whatever,” he said, waving one hand in a vague gesture.

Lorelai’s eyes went kind of wide. “Um, Jess, honey, I know the blueblood world of the Gilmore elders and their kind isn’t exactly your territory, but I’m pretty sure even you know that’s not how it works. The fathers do the presenting. It’s a whole ancient patriarchal ritual.”

“And didn’t it used to be practically the crime of the century if a woman didn’t get married when she got pregnant?” he checked, watching her expression shift several times, though she never actually said a word. “I’m just saying,” he added, shrugging his shoulders as he checked for traffic and walked on back to the diner.

Jess didn’t look back and so missed the part where Lorelai stood gaping at him for at least another minute before going back into the dance studio. His only focus was how busy the diner seemed to have gotten in his absence and how pissed Luke looked. No doubt that had something to do with Kirk sitting at the counter. Another thing Jess had learned very fast was how quickly that guy could wind up his uncle. It wasn’t quite as fast as Taylor, but it ran a close second.

“Oh, you’re here now,” said Luke snippily as Jess slid behind the counter beside him. “Where’d you take the coffee, the top of the Empire State?”

“Yeah, and the elevator was busted, so I had to take the stairs. Sorry, about that,” he countered, completely deadpan.

Luke growled in his throat, but said no more about it, just snapped at Jess to bus some tables and serve some coffee already.

“Yes, Uncle Luke,” said Jess, rolling his eyes when he knew nobody was looking.

Even so, he did do as he was asked. After all, there really was no percentage in being an ungrateful ass.

_A few days later..._

It was getting pretty late. Luke was just thinking he ought to put the sign on the door to ‘Closed’ and help Jess with the clean up he had started on. when suddenly the door flew open with a loud clang.

“Presenting the two Lorelai Gilmores!” the elder Lorelai said with a grin, arms raised to gesture at first herself and then Rory, as if they were both fabulous prizes on _The Price Is Right_.

In all honesty, Luke had to admit they looked like they might be, all dressed up and everything. Rory looked so pretty in her very proper white dress, but Lorelai, she was just gorgeous. Not that Luke planned on telling her that. He never did.

“Hey, Luke, Jess,” said Rory, giving them both a little wave. “Mom’s a little jazzed after the whole coming out event.”

“It went okay?” Luke checked as the girls took a seat at the nearest table.

“It was _amazing_ , my friend,” said Lorelai with a huge grin, “and you wanna know why? Because your nephew is a genius!”

Jess looked as surprised to hear that as Luke was, though they both seemed to realise at the same time that they didn’t need to ask for further explanation. Lorelai was only waiting long enough for Luke to hand her a cup of coffee and take her first sip before she went on.

“So, when Rory’s father did his famous bailing at the last-minute thing, Jess here asked me why I didn’t just step in and present Rory to society myself. I mean, come on, I’m the parent that’s here, that has raised her, that loves her. She’s named after me for God’s sake!”

“Yeah, but that’s not how this stuff is done, right?” said Luke hesitantly.

“That’s what I heard,” Jess agreed, smirking a little at Lorelai.

“Ah, that’s not how it’s ever been done _before_ ,” she confirmed, taking a long triumphant drink from her coffee cup.

“Mom was so amazing!” Rory declared happily, cradling her own cup in her hands as she looked between Luke and Jess. “We didn’t tell anybody that my dad couldn’t make it, and then, right at the last minute, when they called all the fathers up to the landing, Mom excused herself from the party and came on up to escort me.”

“And nobody tried to fight you on it?” asked Jess curiously.

“Oh, there was resistance, but we overcame it,” Lorelai said definitely. “Once the parade started, there really wasn’t any stopping, they had to let me do it. I’m pretty sure the presenter lady knew that if she tried to get in my way, I could take her.”

Luke laughed at that, he couldn’t help it. “I’ll bet that’s true. Well, then, I guess this calls for a celebration. I’m assuming you two want burgers?”

“And fries,” said Rory excitedly.

“And more coffee,” Lorelai declared, lifting her cup high. “God, it’s been a great night. The look on my mother’s face alone was worth everything! And as mad as she wanted to be, she knew she couldn’t really yell at me, because what I did was for Rory and Rory is the _precious_ ,” she said with particularly Gollum-esque emphasis, Jess noticed. “Ooh, I want pie too. Luke!” she yelled as she hopped up from her seat and gave chase right behind the counter and onward into the kitchen.

“She’s always so happy when she’s dabbling in rebellion,” said Rory, smiling widely.

“It’s not a bad feeling,” Jess replied without really thinking, shaking it off in the next second. “Uh, so, how’d this whole thing go from your point of view? Embarrassed by your mom?”

“Not for a second,” Rory told him easily. “I think it was so cool that we bucked tradition. I’m almost sad that I forced Dean into wearing the tails and gloves. He really hated them, and if we were going to go full-on James Dean with mom presenting me, we totally could’ve got away without him being 100% properly dressed.”

“Well, I don’t know about Dean,” said Jess, checking Luke and Lorelai weren’t coming back any time soon before he sat down at the table next to Rory, “but you look good, you know, in the whole froofy dress thing.”

“Thank you.” Rory smiled, blushing a pretty prink and trying to hide in her coffee cup. “So, did you have a good night?”

“Working in the diner?”

“Sure. I mean, it’s a nice place and Luke is great, plus I’m guessing he pays you.”

“All true.” Jess nodded. “The diner is fine, I don’t hate it. Yes, Luke actually does pay me and he’s not exactly a tyrant or anything,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “But I still maintain this town is a nuthouse,” he added, pressing his finger into the tabletop to hammer the point home.

“Present company excepted, I hope,” asked Rory pointedly.

Jess smiled across at her. “Obviously,” he confirmed, just as Lorelai came barrelling out of the kitchen with Luke yelling in her wake.

“It’s not like I touched anything in your precious, precious kitchen!” she yelled back as she reached the table and produced a plate from behind her back. “Except this pie,” she said with a giggle as she retook her seat. “Ooh, I forgot forks.”

“I got it,” Jess told her as he got up to fetch them, unable to keep from grinning yet, even though his conversation with Rory had been interrupted.

He noticed as he walked away and then back over again that she seemed to be watching him the whole time. Seemed like maybe he wasn’t the only one getting a little distracted in this new so-called friendship.

“Here you go,” he said as he handed a fork to Lorelai, “and one for Little Debbie too,” he teased Rory.

“You know I’d thank you with a curtsey, but I’m all out,” she snarked right back, making Jess laugh.

“You can owe me,” he told her with a look before heading for the kitchen to help out Luke.

He was pretty sure she was still watching until he was out of sight, and that didn’t suck at all.


	6. Chapter 6

Jess had his back to the diner door when it opened and closed, having no idea who had walked in until he turned around with the coffee pot in hand and saw her sitting there. Rory was as beautiful as she ever had been, of course, even in her Chilton uniform, but the look on her face was far from happy and her body language screamed ‘pissed off at the world.’ Jess proceeded with caution.

“Coffee?” he offered, grabbing a cup and starting to fill it before she even had a chance to answer.

“Thanks,” she said shortly. “I’m anti-social!” she suddenly declared then, so loudly, a couple of people at the back of the diner actually looked over to see what was going on. “I mean, can you believe that? Apparently, I don’t participate and have no friends. This according to the people at my stupid school.”

Jess frowned some at that little speech. “Okay, I’ve known you a total of fifteen days and even I know that’s not true,” he said definitely.

“Exactly! You know that!” Rory replied, still kind of loud actually. “But Mrs Verdinas, the guidance councillor, and Headmaster Charleston, they don’t know. They think I’m some weird loner with Unabomber tendencies, and they’re trying to make me join clubs and be social with people at Chilton. Why can’t I just read a book, eat a sandwich, and listen to music on my lunch period?”

“Beats me,” said Jess, watching her a moment as she drank her coffee. “What music?” he asked curiously then.

“Today was The Shins, or it would’ve been, if I hadn’t been interrupted and lectured.”

“And the book?”

“ _The Bell Jar_.”

“Wow, they messed with you on the wrong day.”

He was a little surprised to find Rory was smiling when she finally came up for air out of her oversized coffee cup. The way she was looking at him was more than a little friendly too, which Jess didn’t object to, but it did confuse him a little.

“How do you...?” she began to ask when suddenly the door opened again and someone else was yelling Rory’s name, taking her attention right away from Jess.

“Dean, you’re here!” she exclaimed dramatically, throwing herself off her stool and into his arms.

Jess stood straight, clearing his throat and concentrating on wiping down the already spotless counter. He tried not to be too obvious in sneaking looks at Rory and Dean as they conversed.

“I got your page. What happened?”

“I’m antisocial.”

“You’re what?”

“The guidance councillor and Headmaster Charleston, they told me I had no friends, no extracurricular activities, no life, pretty much. It was awful.”

“And that’s why you paged me, telling me you needed me right away? Rory, come on, I thought there was a real emergency. I’m supposed to be at work right now.”

Jess winced on Rory’s behalf as she started apologising and encouraging Dean to leave before Taylor skinned him alive. Like anything should be more important to her boyfriend than something that was upsetting her. As if he couldn’t have just given his boss some excuse to at least spend five minutes telling her everything was cool.

“Huh,” he said to himself as Dean tore out of the diner door, letting it clang shut in his wake.

“What?” Rory asked as she sat back down on her stool. “Jess? What was the ‘huh’ for?”

His eyes shifted from the door to her and he shook his head slightly. “Nothing.”

“Nothing? Really?”

“That’s what I said.” Jess shrugged. “So, I’m guessing the whole being social and group-joining is kind of a big deal when you go to a fancy prep school, right?” he asked then, determined that he was not going to tell her anything that he thought about Dean right now, probably not ever, however much he was tempted.

“Kind of, yeah.” Rory sighed. “It’s so unfair! If they only knew how much I participated here, how I have all these friends, and a boyfriend. I mean, come on, I should get points for all of that.”

“But because they don’t see it, it doesn’t exist,” said Jess knowingly. “How very _Judge Judy_ of them.”

“Well, it stinks!” said Rory crossly, folding her arms across her chest and appearing as a petulant toddler for a while.

“Okay, I’m no expert, but I’m guessing the only way we’re going to fix that expression is with copious amounts of food in the frozen-dairy family?”

Rory’s grumpy expression cracked a little and a smile broke through. “Very perceptive, Carnac.”

Jess laughed at the reference and went in search of ice-cream. Anything to make her happy, he thought, wondering if it really was Rory’s boyfriend that was the sucker here or him instead. Either way, he wasn’t sure he cared much, just so long as Rory was smiling.

* * *

When it came to her next lunch period, Rory absolutely intended to continue on as she had before. Headphones on, book open, sandwich in hand, she didn’t see any reason why she shouldn’t spend her free hour as she saw fit, without deference to anyone else’s opinion.

She had told Jess it was what she wanted to do and he had been very supportive. Of course, he was the rebellious type and Rory wasn’t quite so much, especially when she had no physical back-up. In the absence of her mom or any of her friends from the Hollow, Rory caved too easily.

With a heaving sigh, she had picked up her tray and headed for a table full of girls with only one spare seat left. She didn’t notice the shocked look on a fair few faces, including Paris’ own, as she made her approach and then asked if she could join them. She was completely unfazed as she met Francie, Asia, and Lem. In fact, Rory was mostly just amused by the odd collection of names and the conversation about Homecoming until finally her new ‘friends’ departed.

It was only afterwards, when Paris caught up to her and explained all about The Puffs that Rory realised she really should’ve just stuck to her own company.

“So, you’re joining a secret society?” asked Lorelai, eyes wider than wide when Rory had told the whole story. “At Chilton?”

“I’m not joining them.” Rory shook her head head firmly. “I didn’t even know you could have a sorority in a prep school.”

“Oh, yes, you can.” Lorelai nodded knowingly. “Almost happened to me once.”

“Only almost?”

“Pregnancy.”

“Oh, right. Anyway, apparently, Paris has wanted to be Puffed since forever. Her mom and her aunt and all these women in her family were Puffs. She wants it so badly, and now she’s convinced I’m her way in!”

“Wow. That is crazy,” said Lorelai definitely, “and I wish I could hear more about it but, like I said, thanks to _The Demon Headmaster_ , I have somewhere else I have to be tonight,” she said with a sigh.

“I can’t believe you’re a Booster Club mom now. That’s so weird.”

“Tell me about it.”

Rory walked Lorelai as far as the front door, watching her check that she had everything she needed in her coat pockets and purse.

“Okay, in case of emergency, I have my cell, and if you need money for Luke’s or take-out or whatever, there’s a few bucks on top of the microwave.”

Rory smiled and leaned in to hug her mom. “Be careful out there,” she told her with fake solemnity.

“I’m only going to be a couple of hours, so have the bikers and the keg out the back door before I get home, okay?”

“Always.” Rory nodded once.

Lorelai left then, muttering crossly to herself moments before the door closed behind her. Rory did feel bad for her mom, but at the same time, it was kind of her own fault. Sure, Lorelai had gone to Chilton to see Headmaster Charleston with good intentions, but if she had left well alone, maybe she wouldn’t have been fast-shuffled into Booster Club duty.

With a sigh, Rory headed for the kitchen, grabbing the phone on the way. She found the money her mom had left for take-out and started dialling for Chinese. A second later, she changed her mind and decided on Indian instead. Suddenly, that didn’t appeal either and Rory cancelled yet another call. Her mom had suggested Luke’s and that sounded good, but at the same time, she wasn’t sure she should.

Biting her lip, Rory’s eyes wandered over to her bedroom and she recalled how she had woken up from a very nice dream this morning, one that involved flirting and hand-holding and kissing too, with a guy that was neither her boyfriend nor some random movie star crush.

It was impossible for Rory to deny her head had been more than a little turned by Jess Mariano and she was pretty sure a person would have to be blind not to see how attractive he was. Even Lane had made mention of his good looks and Jess wasn’t exactly someone Rory would think of as her best friend’s type.

Of course, it was completely possible to find a person attractive while dating another person, and there was no harm in it, Rory knew. She was sure there were other girls that Dean saw in school or around town that he thought were pretty or whatever and she didn’t mind at all. Of course, Rory wasn’t sure how happy she would be if she knew her boyfriend had been dreaming about those girls in date-like situations.

“It’s not my fault,” she told herself sternly, remembering that the last thing she and her mom had talked about late last night was dating in general.

Lorelai seemed pretty hung up on who Luke may or may not have dated since Rachel and she talked about it for quite some time. So much thought put into the topics of dating and the diner and Luke, it was hardly strange that Rory’s brain had decided to throw Jess - who worked in the diner and was Luke’s nephew - into a dating scenario with her within her subconscious right after that. After all, she could never, ever, ever see Luke himself that way. It was probably better she didn’t see Jess that way either, but that seemed impossible right now.

Rory’s stomach made a terribly growling sound and she realised just how hungry she really was. She should call for take-out, or maybe swing by Al’s or Teriyaki Joe’s.

“Or I could just go to Luke’s like I want to,” she said to herself putting the phone down on the table with definite force. “I’ve ignored my instincts enough for one day,” she realised aloud, thinking of lunch and the Puffs table all over again. “I’m going to Luke’s!” she said firmly, rushing into the hall to grab her shoes and coat and just leave before she could change her mind again.

* * *

Luke looked up as Rory came into the diner. He was a little surprised that she was alone. Most of the time, she had Lorelai with her, or sometimes, the boyfriend tagged along. Occasionally, it was even Lane, but the youngest Gilmore rarely ate alone.

“Hey, Rory,” he greeted her, coming out from behind the counter as she hovered cautiously by the door. “You okay?”

“Luke, hey,” she responded with a smile then, as if she suddenly realised where she was. “Um, I was hungry.”

“Then a diner is a good place to be,” he said, a little bemused by how strange she was acting. “You wanna sit?” he suggested, pulling out a chair for her.

“Sure, yes. I’d love to sit,” she agreed, doing just that. “Sorry, I was just... It’s a little weird, coming out to dinner by myself. Mom has a meeting.”

“At this hour?” Luke checked, even as he got his notepad and pencil ready to take Rory’s order.

“It’s at my school. She joined the Booster Club.”

“Lorelai joined the Booster Club?”

“Well, they made her. Kind of. Apparently, we’re not into school activities enough.”

“Oh, yeah, Jess mentioned something about that,” Luke recalled. “Well, what can I get you for dinner? Anything you want, on the house.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay. I have money,” said Rory fast, reaching into her pocket and producing a few crumpled bills.

“It’s fine,” said Luke, waving away her outstretched hand. “Seems like you’re having a rough week, so whatever you want is on me tonight.”

Rory gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks, Luke. I’ll take a burger with everything, fries, and onion rings, please.”

“And coffee, obviously?”

“Obviously,” she agreed with an even wider grin.

Luke turned to walk away only for her to call his name and make him look back at her. His pencil hovered expectantly over the pad, sure she was about to add pie and ice-cream or some similar dessert to her order. It was a little surprising when she looked right by him and asked for something else entirely.

“Isn’t Jess here?”

“Not tonight,” Luke confirmed. “He’s out... somewhere, with someone, I guess. I’ll be honest, I know I should ask, but mostly, I don’t. So long as he’s home by curfew and I don’t get any calls from the cops or Taylor or anything, I figure he’s okay, right?”

“Oh, yes. I’m sure he’s okay.” Rory nodded in agreement, though the smile that went with that didn’t look at all convincing.

This time when Luke tried to walk away, Rory let him, though he still looked back at her just before he went into the kitchen. She was definitely a little off today and Luke wasn’t convinced it was entirely to do with her stupid school making her feel bad for being an individual. Quite honestly, she seemed real disappointed when Luke told her Jess was out tonight and that made him think. Sure, Rory had a boyfriend and Dean was... well, Lorelai swore he was a good guy, but Luke was never quite convinced. Of course, he did know for certain that Jess wasn’t the best kid in the world, even if he was his nephew. If there was something happening there...

“They’re just friends,” Luke told himself in muttered tones as he went into the kitchen and began putting together Rory’s order. “And even if they weren’t, what are you gonna do about it? You’re getting sucked into teenage drama, Danes, and that makes you a fool.”

“You say something, Luke?” Caesar asked with a frown.

“Nothing at all,” his boss told him definitely. “Now, get back to work!”


	7. Chapter 7

“You’re an angel, my hero, my saviour!” said Lorelai, far too loudly in Luke’s opinion, as he crouched down by the make-shift runway that ran through the largest function room of the Independence Inn. “There will be a statue on the lawn and we will dance naked around it, forevermore!”

“Please, stop,” he urged her, opening up his toolbox and looking for what he needed. “I will fix the runway so your models don’t fall, but only if you leave me in peace.”

“Whatever you say, honey!” Lorelai told him, still too loud and very purposefully this time, he was sure, as she also blew him a kiss.

Of course, the moment she walked away, Luke kind of wished she would come back. That was a general thing with him and Lorelai, but today there was another, more specific reason why he wanted her around. He really did need to talk to her about Jess, more specifically about Jess and Rory and exactly how close they were getting.

It wouldn’t surprise Luke if they liked each other, neither one was exactly unfortunate looking, and they had plenty in common from what he could tell. The thing was, Luke was slowly starting to realise that when he was talking to his nephew, Rory’s name came up a lot, and when Rory was in the diner, she almost always seemed to be seeking out Jess.

It was fine, really. In fact, Luke was genuinely happy that Jess had made a friend so fast, especially since it was someone his own age who was on a much better path than he was, academically speaking and all. Smart as Jess was, he really didn’t seem all that dedicated to school and studying, unlike Rory who was practically obsessed with keeping her grades up.

The problem, if there was one, was more about Rory being female and Jess being a teenage boy. Luke wasn’t so old he didn’t remember what it was like to be seventeen, when anyone who looked good in a skirt was appealing. While he was sure it was more than that with Jess and Rory, what with them having plenty to talk about and all, he was still a little worried, not least because Rory had a boyfriend and was just such a nice, decent girl. Luke didn’t exactly think his nephew was a seriously perverted degenerate or anything, but he probably wasn’t the right type of guy for Rory.

“I know I promised to go away and let you work,” said Lorelai as she returned to Luke’s side then, “but time is ticking, my friend. How goes the fixing?”

Luke smiled as he double-checked the runway and then stood up, hammer still in hand.

“All done. No more wobbling,” he promised her with a smile. “Anybody falls, it’s their own stupid fault. Probably some dumb high-heeled shoes they shouldn’t ever be wearing in the first place.”

“Why can’t women just go barefoot and wear furs around the cave, like they did when you were young?” she teased him.

Luke rolled his eyes. “I fixed your runway, now do me a favour and answer me a question, would you?”

“Why am I so fabulous?” she guessed, only half-joking, Luke was sure.

“How about why do Jess and Rory think each other are so fabulous?” he said instead, immediately wishing he hadn’t phrased it that way. “Okay, that was your fault. What I meant was, do you think there’s something going on there?” he asked, packing up his tools while waiting on an answer.

“Uh, I think they’re friends,” said Lorelai uncertainly. “They’re always talking about books and stuff, and music that’s even too obscure for me to know about it. I mean, if you’re asking me if there’s more between them than just friendship, then I’m just gonna remind you that Rory has a boyfriend and would absolutely never, ever cheat on Dean.”

“Oh, I’m not accusing her of anything,” Luke said fast. “Come on, I know better than that. It’s just... I don’t know,” he admitted, adjusting his hat with his free hand. “They seem very... _friendly_.”

“Because - as I just stated - they’re friends,” Lorelai repeated. “Seriously, Luke, don’t freak out about this. Rory is trying to be a friend to Jess and, to his credit, I think he’s trying to return the favour. I know there was that whole him trying to kiss her thing, but he read the signals wrong, it happens. I’m pretty sure the dip in the lake told him she’s not interested, not that way, anyway.”

“Yeah, of course, you’re right,” said Luke, nodding his head as he moved to pick up his toolbox. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t even be talking to you about this.”

“Hey, come on, it’s fine,” said Lorelai easily. “After all, we’re friends too, right?”

Luke wasn’t even sure why he hesitated before he answered her, or maybe he knew exactly and that was the problem. “Sure, always,” he said at last, finding her a smile. “Uh, I should get out of the way before the whole fashion show thing starts.”

“Or, crazy idea,” said Lorelai, grabbing onto his sleeve before he could get far, “you could stay a while. Come on, how many times in my life do I get to be a model? You don’t wanna see me shake my little tush on the catwalk?”

Now for that, Luke really did not have a good answer, at least, not one he was prepared to say outloud to Lorelai’s face. Still, he agreed to stay, in as few words as possible. What else could he do when she asked him to do anything at all, but just say yes?

* * *

“Everybody has dreams, Rory, it’s nothing you can control. If I had a dollar for every time I went on a literal dream-date with Ziggy-era David Bowie or early-days Joey Ramone or a young Lou Reed,” said Lane with a great heaving sigh. “It’s never going to happen.”

“Yes, but dreams about rockstars and movie stars are different. Like you said, we all know they’re never going to happen, they just can’t,” Rory agreed. “The problem is that I’m dreaming about a guy that’s kind of... accessible,” she said awkwardly.

“But you’re dating Dean.” Lane shook her head. “No matter how accessible Jess is it’s not like you actually want to... access him, right?” she said uncertainly.

Perhaps Rory hesitated just a little too much before she answered that. “No, I don’t, because I’m dating Dean and I would never want to hurt him by doing something so stupid as kissing another guy.”

She could feel Lane staring at her and knew she hadn’t been convincing. Not that anything Rory just said was untrue. She really did not want to hurt Dean and she would never cheat on him in any way. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean that ‘accessing’ Jess didn’t appeal to her on some level. On a lot of levels, truth be told.

“Okay, just checking here, and please, by all means, tell me if I’m wrong,” said Lane then, “but what about if you weren’t dating Dean?” she asked, tilting her head as she continued to stare at Rory. “Just hypothetically, if there were no Dean, do you think you would want to date Jess?”

“But there is a Dean,” she said weakly, knowing that by not answering the question, she was absolutely answering it, knowing that Lane knew it too, even if she didn’t get a chance to comment.

“Hello, children!” Lorelai called loudly as she came crashing through the front door. “Oh my God, am I ever glad to be home?” she said with a grin as she dumped her purse and coat into the armchair and practically fell into the seat after them.

“How was the fashion show?” asked Rory, amused by her mom’s antics and not at all sorry to have gotten away without properly answering Lane’s last question about Jess and Dean.

“So good, actually,” Lorelai explained as she righted herself in the chair. “I had a weirdly great time and, you know, what? I actually think Grandma did too!”

“That is... strange yet amazing,” Rory decided.

Lorelai made a face. “I know, right? I mean, it wasn’t all perfect, but... well, let’s just say charity event wise, it was a success and that’s what really matters. But seriously, all this Booster Clubbing takes its toll. Mommy is beat,” she said dramatically.

“Oh my goodness, is that the time?” asked Lane then, staring wide-eyed at the clock. “I had no idea it was so late. Mrs Kim is literally going to kill me if I’m not home in five minutes or less.”

She was gone before Rory or Lorelai even managed to say goodbye, their parting words ending up being addressed to an empty space and the closed door.

“So, how was school today? Any progress with the society?” said Lorelai with an over-the-top wink.

Rory laughed. “Actually, yes. I think so anyway. They seem pretty friendly with both me and Paris, since I made a point of introducing her.”

“You know, weirdly, I already kind of knew that,” said her mom with a smirk. “See, I have this strange feeling - maybe I’m psychic today or something - but I’m pretty sure the Puffs are going to come by tonight to, I don’t know, maybe kidnap you and drag you out for a midnight feast in your nightwear?”

Just when Rory had opened her mouth to tell her mom how crazy that sounded, she realised she wasn’t actually kidding. She confirmed it right away, explaining she got a call earlier in the day, asking her to leave the backdoor unlocked for exactly that reason. It seemed initiation was afoot.

“So, best pyjamas tonight, babe,” Lorelai advised, patting her knee as she moved to get up. “Maybe brush your hair and throw on a little lip gloss too, but don’t forget to act surprised, okay?”

“Okay,” Rory agreed as she got up too, planning on going right to bed.

She was half way to her room when Lorelai called her name and regained her attention.

“Um, I was just... I was wondering about you and all these new friends you’re making.”

“They’re not really friends, Mom. I mean, some of them are nice enough, I guess, but this whole Puffs thing was an accident, really.”

“Sure, sure, I know, but I didn’t just mean new friends at Chilton,” she explained, looking strangely awkward. “You and Jess, for example, you’re friends now, right?”

“You know we are.” Rory shook her head, sure she must look as confused as she felt. “Why would you question that?”

“No question, really. It was just something Luke said about Jess talking about you. No, not talking about you,” she corrected, “but mentioning you, in conversation and stuff. It’s cool, you know, if you two are buds, or whatever.”

“Well then it’s cool, because we are,” Rory agreed. “For Luke, as much as anything, you know, because I know he wants Jess to feel comfortable here, in Stars Hollow.”

“Absolutely.” Lorelai nodded. “After everything Luke has done for us - is still doing for us - the least we can do is be nice to his family member.”

“Right.”

“Right.”

With that agreed, both Gilmore girls headed for the respective bedrooms, though there was a chance neither one was completely comfortable with the way that conversation had turned out. Rory couldn’t speak for her mother, but for herself, she had to admit she was feeling a little ill at ease.

Surely the only reason to question if two people were friends was if you thought they weren’t, either because those people were clearly enemies or, alternatively, that they were closer than previously suspected.

Rory met her own gaze in the mirror but only held it for a second before glancing away.

“Puffs initiation,” she muttered, hunting around for her cutest pyjamas and a brush to fix her hair. “One thing at a time!”

* * *

Jess checked his watch as he headed back towards the diner in the dark. Technically, he had a curfew, but Luke was at least a little flexible about that. He was weirdly okay with Jess going out without saying where he was going or when he would be back, which worked out well, because Jess was used to doing his own thing after so many years of Liz not even noticing whether he was around or not half the time.

Maybe the weirdest part for Jess was actually liking the fact that Luke would at least wait up for him, checking he was okay before turning in for the night. Jess didn’t exactly need people to care that much about him, but that didn’t mean it sucked when it happened.

Right outside the diner door, Jess was just trying to locate his key when he heard a car tearing down the street behind him. Frowning at the idea of anybody speeding in the Hollow, he was further surprised to realise he recognised the Jeep that went racing by, a pissed looking Lorelai at the wheel with Rory in the passenger side, wearing her pyjamas, if he wasn’t mistaken.

By the time he got upstairs to the apartment, Jess still hadn’t figured out what he missed, but obviously, something strange was going on.

“Just when you think this town can’t get any weirder,” he said as he came into the apartment, glancing at Luke just as his uncle shut off the TV and picked himself up off the couch. “I swear, Lorelai just drove through town, face like thunder, with Rory right next to her in pyjamas. Any idea what that’s about?”

“No idea.” Luke shook his head. “Probably some crazy midnight snack situation knowing those two.”

“Could be,” Jess considered, dumping the contents of his pockets onto the table and shucking off his jacket too. “It’s weird seeing them out this late. Rory looked... odd. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she looked ashamed, but she’s really not the type to be in trouble, right?”

“She is definitely not the type for that,” said Luke firmly, staring at Jess in such a way by that point that he was very uncomfortable.

“Okay, what is the problem here?” he asked, backing up a step when his uncle seemed weirdly close and intent on studying him like a bug under a microscope.

“You like her, don’t you?” said Luke eventually.

Jess shook his head in apparent confusion, even though he was pretty sure exactly where this was going. “Who?”

Luke rolled his eyes. “Angela Lansbury,” he deadpanned. “I’m talking about Rory. You like her.”

It was a statement, not a question, something he seemed to be daring Jess to refute. He probably could, even if it was a lie, but somehow, Jess knew he wouldn’t feel all that great about out-and-out lying to Luke, not when he had been so weirdly decent with him ever since he moved in.

“She’s nice enough,” he said at last, shrugging his shoulders, unwilling to give anymore unless he really had to.

Luke stared at him for a beat or two more and then finally turned away. “Go to bed,” he told him tiredly, making a dismissive gesture with his arm.

“Yes, Uncle Luke.” Jess smirked, unable to help himself, though he did as he was told all the same.

* * *

She didn’t really need to go into the diner. Sure, a coffee fix was always welcome, but since she was already running later, Lorelai knew it would make way more sense to skip Luke’s, just head right on to the inn and grab some of Sookie’s excellent coffee when she got there. Still, when she found herself about to pass by the diner, her feet just seemed to steer her back to the door and right inside. If she were honest with herself, Lorelai knew exactly why. Shame she wasn’t feeling overly truthful in that moment.

“Hey, it’s Vera Wang,” said Jess with a wicked smirk, even as he poured her a coffee.

“Hilarious,” Lorelai deadpanned, taking a seat at the counter, “but I didn’t design the clothes, I just put on the fashion show... and modelled an outfit,” she added, sipping her drink.

“So, Kate Moss?” he tried instead.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow at him over her coffee cup. “Are you trying to Benjamin Braddock me?”

“Didn’t exactly peg you for the Mrs Robinson type,” he countered fast, like she hadn’t fazed him at all, but Lorelai noticed he wasn’t entirely looking at her anymore and might even be going a little red in the face.

“Relax, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Lorelai assured him. “And I’m really hoping you didn’t either.”

“Not remotely.” Jess shook his head.

They shared a sigh of relief on that one and Lorelai took another long drink from her coffee cup. “So, where’s Luke this morning? He wouldn’t happen to be, I don’t know, entertaining anybody, would he?”

“Entertaining?” Jess echoed, making a face. “Like a kids party or something? Because he’s not really a clowning around kind of guy, at least not from what I’ve seen.”

“Not that kind of entertaining.” Lorelai rolled her eyes. “I was thinking maybe he had a lunch date or something.”

If anything, that just seemed to make Jess frown harder. “Luke is upstairs making phone calls. Some supplier issue or something? I’ll be honest, I wasn’t listening that hard when he explained.”

“Oh, right,” said Lorelai with another of those relieved sighs.

She seriously had suspected something was happening with Luke and that woman Ava from the Booster Club. They seemed so close and weirdly flirty at the event yesterday and, though she had no right to care, it made Lorelai so uncomfortable. If she examined why that was, she had a feeling she knew what conclusion she would come to, which is why she absolutely was not examining it, not at all.

“You thought Luke had a date?” Jess checked then.

“No. Well, maybe,” Lorelai explained. “He just... there was this woman, yesterday, at the fashion show. One of the Booster Club moms, actually. They seemed... friendly.”

“Huh.”

Jess was determined he was saying nothing more than that. As if Luke and Lorelai weren’t obvious enough with all their flirting and everything. Sure, they weren’t actually dating or sleeping together or anything like that, but Jess would have to be blind or very stupid not to notice how much they liked each other. Of course, that was not a conversation he was getting into with Lorelai right now.

“So, Luke never mentioned her at all?” she asked, even as Jess tried to walk away. “You know, Ava the Booster Club mom?”

“Why would I mention Ava to him?”

Jess turned fast to see Luke framed in the doorway, curtain pulled back and a confused look on his face. Glancing back, he realised Lorelai was stammering, trying to find a feasible explanation for why she would ask her question.

“Really not getting involved,” Jess muttered, moving towards the stairs as Luke came further into the diner to confront Lorelai apparently.

“I was just wondering if you were seeing her again, that’s all,” he heard Lorelai say. “You know, showing a friendly interest.”

“Really? Because it sounds a lot like you’re poking your nose in where it doesn’t belong,” Luke countered.

Jess rolled his eyes as he climbed the stairs back to the apartment. Those two really were ridiculous and he had no idea why they weren’t together already. After all, nothing was standing in their way. Neither one had a partner to worry about. They both knew where they stood and had every opportunity to make something happen if they wanted to. Jess sighed and slammed the apartment door shut behind himself. Weren’t they just the lucky ones?


	8. Chapter 8

“You know you don’t actually have to come to this town meeting?” Luke checked with Jess for what had to be at least the fourth time. “I mean, they’re not mandatory. Technically, I don’t have to go either, but if I don’t keep a check on what this crackpot town is up to next, I only end up regretting it,” he explained. “Of course, I usually end up regretting knowing what they’re doing in advance too.”

“If I don’t come to the meeting, what else am I gonna do?” Jess shrugged, hands shoved deep in his pockets as they walked along together towards Miss Patty’s. “Besides, Lorelai said something about them being more entertaining when she and Rory go, so I figured, why not? Can’t be as bad as what passes for comedy on TV.”

Luke made some kind of sound that might’ve just been acknowledgement or could even have been agreement, Jess couldn’t be sure. Mostly he was just glad not to have his uncle questioning his feelings for Rory anymore. That was pretty much the most awkward conversation ever, and since then, he had made an effort not to mention Rory too much or even pay her any particular attention when she came into the diner.

Actually, he hadn’t seen too much of her the past few days anyway. Either she was avoiding the diner or their timing was just lousy. Probably the latter since Jess had seen her eat and knew very well how obsessed she was with Luke’s coffee. Of course, he had half-expected Lorelai to steer clear after her little fracas with Luke over some other mom from Chilton, but that seemed to have been figured out almost as quickly as it blew up. Maybe it was just as complicated navigating relationships as an adult as it was as a teenager, after all.

“Find seats at the back and don’t raise your hand for anything,” Luke warned Jess just as he opened up the door, “because in this town...”

Luke stopped talking and Jess was pretty sure he would’ve stopped paying attention even if he hadn’t as they both stepped into the dance studio and realised all heads had turned and all eyes were staring at them. A quick scan around proved that the Gilmore girls were strangely absent, but just about everybody else who was anybody in town was present, and also staring at them like they were aliens.

“Huh,” said Jess. “I didn’t know any better, I’d think they were talking about us,” he told Luke, loud enough for the whole room to hear, because why not?

“Yeah, well, that better not be what’s going on here,” said his uncle, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at Taylor who was fidgeting behind the podium yet. “What is going on, Taylor?” he asked crossly then.

“Well, we’re... we’re having a town meeting, obviously, and frankly, you’re a little late,” he said, nerves seeming to subside a little as he turned things around on Luke.

Jess knew this was going to turn ugly and he really did not want to be a part of it. Turning to go, he pulled the door open only to find his path blocked by three women trying to get in. Lorelai and Rory both looked confused, along with their friend, some older lady that Jess had never seen before.

“Hey, what’s going on?” asked Lorelai, wincing immediately after as Luke started yelling and Taylor yelled back. “Uh-oh.”

“Are we late?” Rory asked nervously as the girls came into the studio.

“No, everybody else was early.” Jess sighed. “Apparently they were having a meeting about me and Luke. Mostly me, I’m guessing.”

Both Gilmore girls and their friend flinched as one as the Luke vs Taylor fight continued, with Miss Patty trying to interject, along with Babette and several others, some backing Taylor, other’s standing up for Luke.

Jess just wanted to leave, but the women were still blocking his way, and besides, it was a coward who ran in those circumstances, he knew. It was still humiliating, having every little thing he had done, and others he had only been accused of, discussed like he was a child and Daddy had to stand up and fight his battles for him. He should say something on his own behalf, Jess knew that, but if he started, he might not be able to stop. He might tell this crazy town a few things he would regret later.

“He’s a bad influence on the other kids, Luke,” Taylor said definitely. “Pulling fire alarms, skipping classes, hanging around on street corners like some hood.”

“The fire alarm thing was one time, Taylor, and nobody actually knows for sure it was Jess,” Luke argued, counting off points on his fingers as he yelled. “If he skips class, that is nobody’s business but his, mine, and the teachers who lead the classes, and I will deal with that if it is a problem, and for God’s sake, who even uses the word hood anymore, this is 2001 not the 1950s!”

“Go, Luke,” said Rory, clearly impressed by his counter-arguments.

“Yeah, but he looks like he could use a little help,” Lorelai considered. “C’mon, kid. I know you’ve got a mouth, why don’t you use it for a good cause, huh?” she suggested to Jess.

He squirmed, mostly because he knew she was right, but that didn’t mean he was at all comfortable with what she meant. He probably should stand up for himself instead of letting Luke do it for him and he supposed he had at least three people backing him here, plus a few in the gathered townsfolk who had spoken up for him already tonight.

“Hey!” he yelled before Taylor could hurl further accusations at Luke, stepping up beside his uncle to face the onslaught with him. “Is there a reason why you’re blaming Luke for everything you think I do, instead of just blaming me?”

Taylor made a face like he smelled something bad before he answered. “Not that I care for your tone, young man, but in answer to your question, you are a minor and Luke is your guardian. That makes him responsible for what you get up to.”

“And what exactly do I get up to that bothers you so much?” he countered. “Half the stuff you just listed, you don’t even have proof for, and you couldn’t have, because I didn’t do any of it. Even if I did, are you sure that most people even care? Far as I can tell, it’s probably illegal in this town to even whistle in the street or walk arm-in-arm with someone of the opposite sex on a Sunday. If that’s how it is, probably every person in this room needs to be arrested!”

“The kid kinda has a point, Taylor,” said Babette, looking almost worried that she might be a law-breaker too.

“It’s illegal to whistle now?” Gypsy asked the person next to her. “I whistle while I work, I don’t wanna get a fine!”

“People, people,” the town selectman said loudly, making ‘quieten down’ gestures with his both hands. “This is all getting completely out of hand. Now, we were here to discuss the crimes of one hoodlum,” he said pointedly, looking to Jess. “Not everybody else’s minor discretions.”

“So, for anybody else, it’s a minor discretion, but for him it’s crime of the century?” asked Lorelai, stepping up beside Jess. “You mind?” she checked with him then.

“Be my guest,” he told her, shrugging his shoulders.

“Seriously, Taylor, you never pulled a prank as a kid? Never skipped a class? Never had any fun whatsoever? Because hey, that might explain a lot actually.”

“Even I skipped a class once,” said Rory, joining the group. “I mean, I had a really good reason and it was only one time, but still.”

Jess smirked at her attempt at solidarity, knowing already that there was little she could add to the cause in the circumstances. She really had done next to nothing worth mentioning that could be called a crime. Lorelai maybe, in her younger days, from what he heard, but not Rory.

“Look, this is getting us nowhere,” Taylor huffed and sighed.

“You know, what, Taylor? You’re absolutely right,” Luke told him, possibly the first time he had ever agreed with the guy in the history of ever, Jess suspected, but he didn’t say a word since his uncle was now in full flow. “This is never going to get you anywhere because my nephew and what he does or does not do is none of your damn business! If any person here has a problem with Jess or me, they can come talk to us at the diner, any time at all, the door is almost always open. As for you and your stupid extra secret town meeting that was clearly just an excuse to rally the troops with the tar and feathers,” he said to the town selectman then, pointing an angry finger, “you can just go to hell, Taylor!”

With that he turned on his heel and walked out. Jess stared after him for a moment, then turned to the assembled folks of Stars Hollow, shot them a smirk and a salute-type wave, and followed his uncle right out of there. Behind him, he heard muttering between the Gilmore girls and wasn’t exactly surprised to find both Lorelai and Rory on his heels before long, plus their older lady friend too.

“Wow, that was fun!” Lorelai declared happily as they all continued to give chase behind Luke. “I mean, it’s not cool that they were so down on you,” she told Jess then, “but fighting back always feels good, huh?”

“Just because you’re in the minority does not necessarily mean you’re wrong,” Rory agreed. “What Taylor was doing was just plain mean.”

“I really should come back and visit more often if this is how it’s going to be,” the lady behind them said with a chuckle.

Seemingly, Luke heard her too and suddenly stopped walking, very nearly causing a pile-up as everybody behind him had to come to an abrupt halt also. Jess opened his mouth to ask what was going on, when his uncle began circling back around the group there in the street, heading for the woman Jess didn’t know and grabbing her up in a big hug.

“It’s nice to see you too, Lucas,” she said, hugging back and laughing heartily at his sudden friendly gesture. “I’d ask how you’ve been, but things are clearly a little fractious right now.”

“Is she...?” Jess began to ask Lorelai and Rory in a low voice, a little concerned that he was meeting a relation of his own without knowing it.

“Mia, my boss,” Lorelai explained. “She owns the Independence Inn and I guess she and Luke go way back?”

That part Luke and Mia heard too and seemed happy enough to give explanation.

“I knew his mother very well. Ah, dear Rose, she really was something,” she said, shaking her head. “So, this is your nephew?” she asked Luke, looking over at Jess.

“Yup, this Jess, Liz’s kid.”

“Quite the handsome young man” said Mia, looking him over. “You clearly take after your uncle here.”

“There are worse people, I guess.” Jess shrugged, not trying too hard to keep the smirk off his lips.

Luke shot him an annoyed look but it didn’t quite come off. “For that, we’re all going back to the diner, and you can serve the coffee and pie.”

“Whatever you say, Uncle Luke.”

Jess rolled his eyes and everything, but he honestly didn’t mind so much. As they headed into Luke’s, he went straight to the counter to get the food and drink, one ear open for whatever Luke, Mia, and the Gilmore girls were talking about. It sounded as if Luke wasn’t exactly saintly in his teen years either, racing around on a skateboard, charging old ladies a quarter a bag to carry their groceries home. Also, he may have been a Trekkie, and wasn’t Lorelai just going to harp on that one, apparently.

“Hey.”

Jess’ looked up fast from his pie serving when he heard Rory speak.

“You doing okay?” she asked, face full of concern. “I mean, that whole town meeting thing, it was so unfair.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Jess insisted, shaking his head. “It’s not like they were wrong about everything. Besides, seems like a few people around here actually have my back, so I guess that’s cool,” he said, smiling at Rory like he meant it, mostly because he did, he supposed.

“What are friends for?” she asked, shrugging her shoulders, before reaching for a couple of plates of pie to take to the table that the adults were gathered around.

“Is that what we are?” Jess asked, watching her closely. “Friends, I mean.”

Rory looked at him like he just asked the weirdest question and then she nodded. “Of course,” she agreed at last. “I’ll just take these over,” she said, nodding to the plates before she turned away to serve them.

Jess just took a deep breath and followed suit.


	9. Chapter 9

When the lunchtime rush at the diner got down to a dull roar, Luke had slipped out and left Caesar and Jess to deal with the afternoon lull. Since nobody needed anything, Jess took the executive decision to lean on the end of the counter and read the last two chapters of his book. He was so engrossed that he barely noticed the ringing of the bell as the door opened and closed, and got a real surprise when someone suddenly spoke to him.

“Good afternoon, Jess.”

He looked up sharply at the woman standing there, grinning at him, and eventually smiled back, closing up his book.

“Mia,” he said, nodding his head. “What can I get you?”

“Nothing really,” she insisted, waving away his question even as she took a seat at the counter. “I was just hoping to see Lucas before I left, that’s all. Could you give him a yell for me?”

“I would if he were here, but he’s out.”

“Oh, well, now, that is disappointing.” Mia sighed. “Do you expect him back sooner rather than later? Because I could stay a while.”

“Not sure how long he’ll be.” Jess shook his head, reaching for a cup and the necessary items to make some tea for Mia. “He went over to Lorelai’s place. Something about a huppa?”

Mia made a face at that, clearly as in the dark as to what it all meant as Jess himself had been. “Curiouser and curiouser,” she remarked, drumming her fingers on the counter thoughtfully, then suddenly she smiled. “You really have been paying attention,” she told Jess as he put her tea in front of her.

He smiled back, not really seeing why he shouldn’t. Jess had only known Mia for three days, but he already knew he liked her. She wasn’t like most women her age, who would look at someone like Jess and immediately call him a hoodlum or similar, condemning him as a waste of space and time. She was, as far as Jess could tell, a little more like an older, wiser version of Lorelai, which made a lot of sense, since Mia had a hand in raising her in her teen years.

Since being in the Hollow, visiting with the Gilmore girls and catching up with Luke, Mia had been nothing but decent to Jess. Not condescending, never pitying, and absolutely not judgemental either. She asked questions, she took a genuine interest, but she wasn’t pushy. All in all, she was better than most older people that Jess had crossed paths with, in Stars Hollow or anywhere else for that matter.

“Mmm, that hits the spot,” said Mia, sipping her tea. “You know, the more I know you, the more I see your grandfather in you,” she said then, meeting Jess’ gaze.

“Huh,” he said, shaking his head. “I barely remember the guy.”

“Oh, William was a fine man. Luke is a lot like him actually, though there are pieces that are absolutely his mother too. I keep expecting to see glimpses of Liz in you but...” she trailed off, shaking her head. “No, just bits of Luke and William. I’m afraid I never knew your father.”

“That makes two of us.” Jess sighed, hoping that remark didn’t come out as bitter as it could. “Apparently, we’re better off, you know, not knowing Jimmy. This according to Liz and Luke.”

“I’m sure they know best,” Mia agreed, though something in her half-smile suggested she well understood that Jess did not care for being told what was best for him at all. “Now, you said Luke had gone over to Lorelai’s house about a... huppa?” she checked.

“That’s what he told me. It’s all he told me,” Jess clarified with a look.

Mia chuckled. “You’re sharp, Jess Mariano. Don’t ever lose that,” she advised, taking another drink from her cup. “Ah, poor Lucas. He really should learn to put his best foot forward where Lorelai is concerned. I have tried to tell him so a couple of times this visit, but he insists he has no idea what I’m talking about.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” said Jess, rolling his eyes and smirking hard. “Those two are just unbelievable. I thought you were supposed to get smarter as you got older, and also, not waste what precious time you have left.”

“‘Time is the coin of life. Only you can determine how it will be spent.’”

Jess stared wide-eyed at Mia for a moment. He really had not been expecting a Carl Sandburg quote.

“What? You think you’re the only one who ever read a book?” she asked him, plucking his own latest read from the counter and inspecting the cover. “Hemingway, huh? Well, to each his own, I guess. Not really my...” she trailed off, raising her cup of tea to her lips with a smirk. “Now,” she said, her cup drained and replaced on the counter, “I’m afraid on this occasion Lucas has missed his chance for a personal goodbye, because I really do have to be going.”

Her hand went into her purse then and Jess was quick to stop her.

“Tea’s on the house,” he assured her, smiling when she looked his way. “What Uncle Lucas doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right?” he added with a wicked smirk.

“I do like you,” said Mia happily. “You’re going to make his life just as interesting as it deserves to be, and I don’t think it’ll do you any harm to spend time in this town either. My girls have certainly taken a shine to you,” she said with a look, clearly referring to Lorelai and Rory.

“They’re good people.” Jess shrugged.

“And you’re not so bad yourself,” Mia assured him, getting to her feet and gathering herself up ready to go. “Now, you can run screaming if you want to, I know how sensitive young men your age can be, but how about a hug for an old woman that’s leaving town and might not be back for a while?” she asked, one eyebrow raised as she awaited his answer.

Jess meant to say no. After all, he really wasn’t much of a hugger. Liz was, massively so, and he didn’t care for the excessive displays of affection from her most of the time, but this wasn’t Liz, it was Mia. Besides, who was going to know about it? The diner was practically dead anyway.

Taking a deep breath, he rounded the counter, standing in front of Mia and immediately wondering what the hell he was thinking. Before Jess had a chance to change his mind, she reached out to him, arms around his back as she pulled him in and squeezed him tight. His arms went around her on automatic as he gently hugged back.

“You’re not the bad guy, Jess,” she told him softly, kissing his cheek as they finally parted. “Don’t you let anyone make you feel as if you are, okay?”

“Sure,” he agreed, nodding once. “Uh, take care of yourself,” he said uncertainly, suddenly very aware of the fact that he had no idea how this parting of ways was really supposed to go.

He didn’t do goodbyes. He barely did caring about people enough to ever need to.

“You too, Jess,” she told him with a bright smile, hand patting his arm affectionately, before she finally headed out the door.

It clanged shut in her wake, leaving Jess alone by the counter, wondering what the hell just happened. Stars Hollow was such a crackpot town, he had a feeling it might just be turning him into one of its own. The worst of it was, Jess was actually starting to wonder if that was such a terrible thing after all.

* * *

“So, you fixed things with Sookie?” Rory checked, following her mom around the house as she flitted about left and right, searching out the missing item.

“It’s fixed, pretty much anyway.” Lorelai sighed, stopping so suddenly in the hallway that Rory actually ran into her back. “Ugh, what did I do with that folder? I’m so sorry, hon.”

“It’s fine,” her daughter assured her. “I don’t need it for a couple of days, so we have time to find it.”

“But it’s for school, it’s important,” said Lorelai crossly, heading off across the living room with a purpose. “I shouldn’t have just moved it without checking, but I thought it was one of mine and... A-ha!” she suddenly cried in triumph, only to deflate five seconds later. “Nope, this one actually _is_ mine.”

“I told you, it’s fine. It’ll show up,” Rory assured her. “So, about you and Sookie and this horrible fight? You’re sure it’s all settled now? No more problems?” she asked worriedly.

“Honey, I promise, there are no problems,” her mother swore, hands on her shoulders as she met her eyes. “I got mad and then Sookie got mad, and yes, it was not a great moment in either of our lives, but then I got talking to Luke and, well, you know how he can be all sagey with the advice giving sometimes? So, I talked to Sook and we fixed everything. No more fights, no more problems. Don’t worry so much,” she said with a smile, planting a quick kiss on Rory’s forehead. “Now, if I were a folder containing important project work for Chilton, where would I be?”

Rory giggled at the phrasing and the way her mom walked off in full searching mode, not looking unlike Inspector Clouseau as she peered this way and that with a purpose.

“You do know it’ll probably turn up in the last place you’d think to look.”

“Such as?”

“I don’t know, the last place you’d expect to find a folder.”

“Toilet tank?”

“Eew, I hope not.” Rory grimaced, especially when she realised that Lorelai was actually headed for the bathroom to look in that very disgusting place. “You are not serious!” she yelled, giving chase and catching up to her mom outside the door.

“No,” Lorelai said definitely, turning to face her daughter, before glancing back at the bathroom door for a second. “Although, couldn’t hurt to check?”

“If it is in there, I do _not_ want it back,” Rory insisted, folding her arms over her chest as she waited for her mom to return.

“It’s not there,” she promised, eliciting a sigh of relief from her daughter. “Which is great, except I just don’t know where else to look. You sure you don’t need it today?”

“Nope,” Rory insisted, “not tonight, Josephine. In fact, I’m going to be spending most of the night getting ahead on the reading for English. We’re moving on to _Romeo and Juliet_ next.”

“Well, that sounds fun.” Lorelai nodded, even as she wandered off in search of the elusive file one more time. “Is it all just reading or will you get to act some of it out?”

“Not sure yet. I hope not. I’m not really performance girl.”

“Not true!” Lorelai gasped. “You gave a great performance as broccoli in the Kindergarten pageant. Everybody said you were a big hit.”

“Not exactly the same as performing Shakespeare, mom.”

“Meh, maybe not,” Lorelai considered, before suddenly snapping her fingers as an idea seemed to come to mind. “Ooh, maybe when I saw the folder before, I did realise it was yours and I put it in your room?”

“But then wouldn’t it have been there when I originally looked for it?” Rory checked.

“Depends if you looked in the super-secret place that I hid it for you,” her mom countered, darting by Rory and rushing into her room to search some more.

Rolling her eyes at the seemingly childish but nonetheless entertaining behaviour, Rory followed on behind her. Hopefully the fun and games wouldn’t go on too long, because she really did need to get a jump on _Romeo and Juliet_ tonight. At least she knew where that book was.

“Did you read Shakespeare in high school?” she asked her mom, even as she continued to look for the missing folder.

“Uh, I think so. Not _Romeo and Juliet_ though. Which one has the witches? _Hamlet_?”

“ _Macbeth_ ,” Rory corrected.

“Yes, I do remember a little about that and, uh, _Kiss Me Kate_?”

“ _Taming of the Shrew_.”

“Sounds familiar. As you can tell, I just remember so much about it,” she deadpanned, rolling her eyes for good measure before going over to the desk and resuming her search. “ _Romeo and Juliet_ is pretty easy though, right? I mean, I never read the whole thing, but I’ve seen at least three movies. Warring families, star-crossed lovers, marriage, and death, right?”

“Pretty much. You know, they should let you sub in and teach the class. We’d have the material covered so much faster than actually reading the play and studying the nuances of language and everything.”

“I know, right?” Lorelai agreed without pause. “A-ha!” she said again, this time holding up a folder that actually did look like the right one. “So, you searched this room, huh?”

“You hid it in the craziest place!” Rory countered, realising her mom had just pulled said folder from the bottom of the closet. “I would never look there for school work because I would never think to keep it there.”

“Well, your filing system needs work,” Lorelai countered, putting the folder into her hands. “Now, before you get deep into studying, dinner plans. Are we diner bound or you wanna order in from somewhere?”

There was a strange moment of hesitation, a look in Rory’s eyes that was almost panicky, before she eventually answered the question.

“Um, we should order in, that way I can get really into my reading and I don’t have to worry about stopping and starting, you know, losing the flow and everything.”

“Sure, sure.” Lorelai nodded along. “Because it’s not like you wouldn’t want to go to the diner, right? I mean, I thought you and Jess were getting along like buds these days.”

“We absolutely are.” Rory nodded too fast and too hard. “We’re definitely friends.”

“Friends, right, and that’s very cool, because like we said before, Jess could use a few friends.”

“Everybody needs friends.”

“Absolutely,” Lorelai agreed, watching her daughter too closely for comfort, at least, she was in Rory’s opinion. “Okay, so, I’ll let you get started with your Capulets and... those other guys,” she said, waving her hand in a random gesture.

“It’s the Montagues,” said Rory with a smile, “and thank you.”

As Lorelai finally left the room, closing the door behind her, Rory let out a breath she barely knew she had been holding. Every time her mom mentioned Jess lately, it was as if she were looking for information, for some confession that Rory really did not want to make.

Still, she had to admit, she probably did have something she could admit to about Jess if she were really being honest. That question Lane had asked a few weeks ago, about how Rory might feel about Jess if there was no Dean in the picture, it kept on coming back around in her mind and wouldn’t ever quite go away. Rory knew the reason why. She knew very well it was because the answer was something she almost afraid to consider.

If there was no Dean to be her boyfriend, then maybe, just maybe, she could think about Jess that way, but since there was a Dean, there was really no use in even considering it. Strange then that she found herself doing exactly that rather more often than she should. That really could not be good.


End file.
